


Fixing The Cracks

by Pieceofship



Category: Danganronpa
Genre: Domestic!AU, Finished, Multi, Will add more tags with updates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 09:09:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 62,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pieceofship/pseuds/Pieceofship
Summary: Mondo and Kiyotaka's attempts at starting a family have been fruitless, at least until Sakura offers to be a surrogate. Though nothing ever goes according to plan when it comes to life.





	1. Chapter 1

"What do you mean she changed her mind?!" Mondo yelled into the phone.

Kiyotaka could do little but watch and listen on to his husband as he ranted into the phone. He couldn't blame him, they had their hopes so high on this one being the one. Hell, if Kiyotaka could have his way he would probably be joining in with Mondo in his latest screaming match on the phone. But that wouldn't be helping anyone, at least one of them had to try and be level headed for a change to deal with the situation.

"So he just came out of nowhere after disappearing for six months?!" Mondo spat, his free hand curling into a fist. 

Sure enough after screaming a few more words into the phone Mondo hung up and slammed the cordless phone onto the coffee table.

"Fucking hell... Goddamn it!" he swore.

"What happened?" a pointless questions, he knew what happened... Well, what was happening again anyway.

"That bastard of a boyfriend showed up after disappearing for six months and talked her into getting back together!" he huffed, clenching his teeth. "Her mother told me they plan to raise the baby together now, apparently the boy comes from's a wealthy family."

Of course, he should had known it was too good to be true. A teenage girl with an unplanned pregnancy, a boyfriend who immediately fled once he got word, leaving the poor girl to deal with the situation. They met the girl face to face , she was shy and terrified about the situation, but managed to warm up to them. It seemed like some kind of miracle. But of course this happened, now once again it was going downhill.

"Did she say anything else?" Kiyotaka asked.

Mondo sighed and kicked at the carpet of the floor. "Her daughter says she's sorry, that she's only doing what's best for the baby." he gritted his teeth. "All because he's some fucking rich brat!" he stuffed his hands into his pants pocket. 

Kiyotaka swore under his breath, he wish could be angry at her, in fact he was. But he had to remember, this was a teenage girl who felt scared and was in a tough situation. If he and Mondo were in her shoes they would had probably done the same thing. He would only hope that the child they were going to originally adopt was going to live a happy life.

"I can't keep going through this shit!" Mondo huffed.

"I know, I know..." Kiyotaka sighed and massaged his temples.

Why was this so difficult? They were trying everything and doing everything right. Sure they weren't rolling in cash, but they were stable enough with cash to provide for a child. But nothing was working. Adopting a child or trying to find a surrogate to carry a baby for them, it seemed so impossible. It was times like this he wished he could be angry like Mondo, but the whole process of trying to enter parenthood left him too emotionally and physically drained to show any anger, just depression. And he was getting sick of it.

"I need some damn fresh air." Mondo grumbled as he swiped up the keys to his motorcycle from the coffee table. 

And with that Kiyotaka's husband stomped out of the living room and out of the house. He sighed as he heard his husband's bike roar as it raced off.

He didn't feel like moping on the couch, but he also didn't feel like leaving the house. But one thing was for sure, he needed to do something. Too drained to do much, he dug into his pockets and took out his phone to browse his social media profile. Maybe he could find something on there to take his mind off things for a bit.

He lazily browsed post after post, all of which seemed dull. He sighed again and noticed one of his friends were online. Maybe if he vented a bit it would help? Nothing else was helping after all. 

Sakura Oogami was a friend he and his husband meet in high school. She and a few others bonded being the only queer students, as well as the variety of hobbies and personalities. He wasn't too sure if Sakura was the right one to bring this up with, but he was desperate. And knowing her, she would be more than willing to listen to his troubles. So with that in his mind, he instant message Sakura.

Kiyotaka : Hello. Are you on?

It took but a few seconds, but Sakura was quick to reply.

Sakura : Indeed. Greetings. It's been awhile.

Kiyotaka : You're have to forgive me for that. Life has been... difficult, to put it lightly. But I would hate to dampen your mood.

Sakura : Nonsense, if you wish to talk about it then speak.

So typical Sakura, always a listener. Why did he doubt her ability to understand the situation?

Kiyotaka : You know me and Mondo have been trying to start a family, right?

Sakura. Yes. I recall the announcement quite well. Dare I ask how it's going?

Kiyotaka : The mother decided to keep the baby. The father showed up and apparently he's loaded.

Sakura : My condolences. I know this must be heartbreaking to bear through.

Kiyotaka : Thank you. I just don't know what to do next... I mean realistically speaking we probably will end up trying again in the future, whether we seek out a surrogate or try to adopt. We just had our hopes high on this one. Then this happens.

Sakura : That is troubling. 

Kiyotaka : Yeah, it is. Neither of us are handling it well.

There was a bit of a long pause before Sakura message him again.

Sakura : I see. Well, I have a solution to end your frustration.

Kiyotaka didn't want to doubt Sakura, but he wasn't completely sure on what she meant.

Kiyotaka : I'm afraid I don't fallow.

Sakura : To put it simply, should you choose to try to find a surrogate, I am willing.

Kiyotaka nearly fell off the couch... Actually he did. He bit into his cheek to keep from cursing as he hit his head on the coffee table. Did he read that right? Sakura, Sakura Oogami, just straight up offered to be their surrogate. He scrambled to grabbed the phone and read the message a second time, which was then fallowed by a third. Was Sakura serious?

Sakura : Kiyotaka? Are you still online?

Kiyotaka : Yeah. 

Sakura : Well? Had you considered my offer.

Kiyotaka : That, really isn't necessary. Thank you for the offer, but we couldn't possibly accept.

Sakura : I fail to see why? All my doctor appointments indicate I am perfectly healthy. I see no reason why a pregnancy would be a problem. I am more than willing to be a surrogate should you want to use one when you try again.

The polite thing to do would be to decline. Having such a personal friend carry his and his husband's child? It would be awkward as hell. But whenever they tried to seek out a surrogate nothing came up from the agency. Adoption could take years... He let out a sigh as he typed back.

Kiyotaka : Very well, I shall discuss it with Mondo.

Sakura : Of course. Take all the time you need. I must go now, best of luck to you.

And with that being said, Kiyotaka set his phone aside just as the familiar roar of Mondo's motorcycle pulled up. That was fast, he figured his husband would be out for far longer.

Mondo walked back into the living room after kicking off his shoes. Carrying in a fast food bag that reeked of the signature smell of greasy burgers. Judging by the combined smell of fast food and smoke, he probably brought cigarettes along the way. 

"Got dinner." he said and places the bag on the coffee table before looking at Kiyotaka and blinking. "Is that blood?"

Kiyotaka felt the spot where he hit his head, realizing their was a small gash accompanied with some dry blood.

"Shit man, what happened? You knocking skulls together while I'm gone?" he frowned and inspected the cut.

"Nonsense, I just fell off the couch." Kiyotaka replied and licked his thumb before he began to rub the dried up blood away. "Speaking of which, I just finished talking to Sakura."

"Been awhile since I heard from her." Mondo commented. "How is she?" he asked and plopped himself on the couch.

"She's doing well from what I can tell." he explained, feeling a tinge of guilt that he neglected to ask how she was. "I informed her of what took place and..." he trailed off. How exactly was he suppose to approach this with Mondo? They literally just got the worst news of their life tonight. 

He was well aware neither of them wanted to jump into this right away, they grown so attached to the baby they were originally were going to adopt. They had so much hope, only to lose it all. It would take time until they finally moved on and decided to go through and try again. And that was IF Mondo agreed to this.

"And what?" Mondo asked as he leaned back.

"Sakura has stated that in the event that we should look for a surrogate, she would be a willing candidate." he informed. 

Now that he said it out loud, it did sound unbelievable. 

"Just how hard did you hit your head exactly?" Mondo inquired.

"Believe me, I was just equally shock." Kiyotaka said. "If not more."

"A lesbian being a surrogate for two gay men, sounds like something straight out of a sitcom." Mondo joked.

"This is serious! Do not try to use humour to deflect the seriousness of the situation." he frowned. "We must discuss this throughly."

"Alright, alright." he huffed and placed his feet on the table lazily. It took ever ounce of self control for Kiyotaka to not tell him to remove his feet. "What do you think then?"

"I think she's serious about the offer." Kiyotaka replied. 

"What did you say when she offered?" he questioned.

"I informed her we would talk about it." 

"So you're on board with it?" 

"I never said that." Kiyotaka stated.

"But you wouldn't bring it up if you weren't considering it." Mondo countered.

"Since when did you get so smart?" 

"Don't change the subject here." 

"Why wouldn't I? Sakura is healthy, we know her so we wouldn't have to worry about getting scrammed, it is the most logical option that had appeared." he pointed out.

"But isn't it... weird?" Mondo wrinkled his nose. "Having someone we know carry our kid?"

"As opposed to a complete stranger?" Kiyotaka argued lightly. "Their had been cases of family members doing the same thing for each other."

"Still weird though. You know how iffy I am about this whole surrogate shit." he argued back. 

"Will you at least think about it?" Kiyotaka requested. 

Mondo let out a sigh. "For you? I will. It's just so damn sudden."

"Take all the time you need."

Seven and a half months later after carefully selecting egg donors, Sakura went through a round of IVF.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thanks for all the comments. It meant so much to me that people left such kind reviews on this. Also I forgot to mention that this is totally based on a dream I had about Sakura being a surrogate for Kiyotaka and Mondo. I've been thinking about it constantly and of course I gave in since I'm a sucker when it comes to my ships having kids.

Much of her life was dedicate to training, things that were considered mundane such as social media, dancing, singing, were just a few things Sakura didn't get around to experiencing until she was in high school. Even though it has been years and yet Sakura still had trouble with doing and understanding these things. Social media was still hard to understand, she only ever used it to contact her social circle. But if their was one thing Sakura was sure of, it was that everyone probably felt this way when they were in this situation.

She furrowed her brow as she scanned the shelves of merchandise before her. There were so many, which would provide the most accurate results? Sakura selected one of the many pregnancy tests which were contained in rectangular boxes. Sakura inspected it, reading each and every word printed on the box. 

"Digital..." she read aloud in a mumble before picking up a different box with her free hand. "Get results with the app?" There were apps for these kind of things now?

Sakura frown and placed both boxes back before going back to looking at the boxes of tests before her. With a huff she grabbed three of the least intimidating looking tests and added them to her shopping basket. Hopefully these three would suffice and provide an accurate test result. 

Armed with her shopping basket Sakura made her way out of the pharmaceutical section of the store and moved back into the aisles that contained consumables. One of those being tea, something she was nearly out of. 

As she made her way over she took a moment to glance at the tests in her basket. Mondo and Kiyotaka were longing for a child for so long, it wasn't fair that they had to wait so long. Sakura couldn't think of more deserving people than them, or that of the thousands of Children who all needed a loving home that all adoption agencies made things so complicated. Sakura could only hope that she could end their frustrations by giving her two friends just what they yearned for.

While caught up in her thoughts, she failed to realize an extra hand was reaching for the same box of tea. She blinked, instantly snapping back to reality. 

"Oh, sorry about that."

She was shorter than her (like the majority of people Sakura encountered) brown hair done up and out of her face, revealing the biggest pair of bright blue eyes she ever seen. Also Sakura couldn't help but notice she carried the scent of chlorine. Perhaps she was a swimmer? 

"Do not fret, I should be apologizing." Sakura replied, taking notice of the abundance of donuts in the other woman's shopping basket. Seemed like someone had a sweet tooth. "I was neglecting to pay attention to my surroundings."

"Let's just agree it's both our faults, otherwise we're both be apologizing forever." she joked with a big smile before going on ahead and taking one of the boxes. "Have a nice day." donut girl mused and took one of the boxes of tea before taking off.

It was refreshing to see someone not put off by her appearance, even if it only lasted a few moments. Perhaps it was a sign of good luck on this fine morning? Or just another sign she was a huge lesbian. She chuckled to herself lightly at the thought before leaving for the checkout to pay for everything.

After a quick walk and half a cup of freshly brewed tea later, Sakura was in the bathroom. She fumbled around with the packaging and reading over three sets of instructions. All three were pretty straight forward, just urinate on the stick and wait three minutes, easy enough.

Though the instructions neglected to say anything about how it would be the longest three minutes of Sakura's life.

...

Mondo huffed as he rubbed a smear of motor oil off his face, no matter what he did whenever he tried to change the oil in his bike, it always ended up on him somehow. And that normally led to Kiyotaka nagging him to shower since he didn't want the scent lingering in the house. 

You would think after years of marriage Kiyotaka would develop a tolerance to the smell, but apparently not.

His train of thought was interrupted as he picked up on the sound of running. And speak of the devil, Kiyotaka rushed in.

"Did you check your phone yet?!" he asked, clutching his own phone in his sweaty palms. 

"No, it's dead." Mondo replied and raised an eyebrow. "I meant to charge it later today, why?" 

"You absolutely have to see this!" Kiyotaka raced up to him, shoving his phone in Mondo's face. 

Right away Mondo's eyes widen at the image on the phone's screen. A message sent by Sakura, though instead of text it contained but a single photo. In said photo was three pregnancy tests, all three were marked with either a red plus sign, two thick lines, and the word 'pregnant' written in their little square window.

He heart began racing, for once in a long time Mondo was left speechless. This had to be dream, right? It just seemed too good to be true. Could it be a fluke? No, it couldn't be. The very idea that all three tests were a false positive was stupid. He had to get over the doubt that he harbouring. 

He was unable to help but grin, finally lifting his gaze from the phone and to Kiyotaka, who was too smiling from ear to ear.

"Holy shit..." Mondo managed to say, barely above a whisper.

"We're gonna be dads..." Kiyotaka said in the same quiet tone. 

Mondo opened his arms, about to give Kiyotaka the biggest bear hug in the world... Or was until Kiyotaka pushed him away.

"Hey!" Mondo frowned. "What's the deal?"

"You smell like oil." Kiyotaka wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Seriously?" Mondo huffed.

"The smell of oil is revolting! I will not tolerate that smell near me or our kid!" he jabbed a finger into Mondo's chest. "You will shower at once!"

Mondo chuckled, typical. "Alright, alright. I'll shower."

"Excellent, I'll call Sakura and discuss setting up a doctor appointment in the meantime." he clapped his hands together and exited the garage.


	3. Chapter 3

Kiyotaka shouldn't had come here, playing it cool was never his strong point, especially with all these violations being committed.

His eye twitched as he watched yet another student walk by with a bottle of beer in hand. Underaged drinking, public displays of affection, drug usage, and vulgar language. The very environment went against everything Kiyotaka stood for. So why was he here and biting his tongue when he should be calling the authorities to put an end to this madness?

"F-For fuck sake, lighten up." Toko huffed and shot him a glare.

"You know it's bad when Toko tells someone to lighten up." Sakura joked, taking a swing out of her plastic red cup, that much to his disappointment contained liquor. 

"Well it's true!" she accused. "T-the while point coming to here w-was to try to get him to q-quit being a stick in the mud."

"Correction, you only came here because you heard Byakuya would be here." Sakura pointed out. "You just insisted we come along because you didn't want to be alone."

"S-So?" Toko frowned. "I-it's not every night Byakuya comes to a party out in the woods like this."

"And for good reason. Drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, driving under the influence." Kiyotaka listed off. "This whole party is illegal and a danger to us students." 

"Oh! I think I see Byakuya!" Toko squealed.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Kiyotaka barked.

"Wish me luck!" Toko sang as she gleefully raced off to find him.

Kiyotaka let out an irritated sigh, he couldn't believe Toko talked him into coming to such a crude event. 

"Well, no use standing around and moping." Sakura said as she polished off the booze in her plastic cup. 

"Don't tell me your going to keep drinking? Your my ride home." Kiyotaka's reminded. "And besides, you of all people shouldn't even want to be here."

"One cup of water down beer isn't going to impair my driving." Sakura said and leaned on a tree. "And I'm simply making the best out of a bad situation, might I suggest you do the same." 

Kiyotaka wished he had some kind of stern comeback, but she did have a fair point. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to expand his limited social circle. He only had the chance to befriend Sakura and Toko at an event for lgbt students. Maybe he could find someone who too was dragged here against their will.

"You have a good argument, I see your point." he puffed out his chest. "Very well then, I shall seek out people to socialize with through his sea of misbehaviour!" Kiyotaka declared and marched off.

Though it became abundantly clear that his confidence in his words weren't there with him now. He was the only one still in their school uniform and on top of that many of the party goers were either too high, wasted, or busy bumping uglies to converse with him. 

He narrowed his eyes at the bottles and red cups filled with beer. Why were so many students so eager to drink? Caustically he picked up one of the many red cups and sniffed at its contents. It didn't smell appealing, nor did the colour, it was just a few light shades away from resembling urine. He brought the rim to his mouth and tilted the cup, allowing the liquid to pass his lips. Immediately he grimaced and quickly brought the cup away from his mouth. Why would anyone drink this? It tasted like cough syrup.

"Why is there always some dude on a guitar at these parties?" a stranger complained to no one in particular. "Thinking he's the shit because he's singing douchebag songs about his feelings."

Was this a douchebag song? It sounded pretty alright to him. 

The stranger glanced at him, the first thing that caught Kiyotaka's attention was the large pompadour he was sporting. In a desperate attempt to try to seem like he wasn't a complete social outcast, he tried to drink again. It wasn't as bad the second time, still tasted awful. 

"What do you think?" pompadour asked, leaning on a hand. "You agree with me?"

"Yeah..." he managed to say without choking from the awful taste.

"Exactly! Fucking dumb as hell." pompadour huffed and took a swing from his own cup. "He ain't impressing no one."

"I suppose I can see your point, this is hardly the proper place for playing acoustic instruments." Kiyotaka agreed with a nod. "If he were to get too close to the bonfire the guitar would be set aflame, I see no signs of a fire extinguisher nearby. I can only hope everyone here possesses proper fire safety knowledge aside from myself."

"Heh, so your one of those types. Aren't you?" he said.

"One of those types?"

"The kind with a stick so far up their ass it's poking their brain."

"And what are you referring too?!"

"You're a fucker who's the stick in the mud at these parties."

"Excuse me? I'm plenty of fun!" Kiyotaka argued.

"Hard to believe since your still wearing your school uniform." he commented. 

"You're accusations are ill thought out and outrageous!" Kiyotaka yelled.

"Fine, we're settle this the old fashion way!" pompadour hissed with a glare. 

"Right!" 

"Beer pong!"

Wait... he doubted that was the old fashion way. But Kiyotaka refused to back down now, he refused to look weak in the eye of this delinquent. 

"You're on!"

Two beers later and next thing he knows pompadour and him have their arms around each other, one because Kiyotaka couldn't walk without stumbling, and two was a dead giveaway given by the intoxicate smile plastered onto Kiyotaka's face as he laughed at a joke. They went from being at each other's throats to acting like me they been friends for years.

Kiyotaka sloppily drank from his cup, barely able to stand as he happily listen on to his new bro.

"Oh my god, you're drunk." 

He lazily turned his head to see Sakura and Toko, who was sporting a hickey on her neck.

"Heeeey." Kiyotaka slurred and waved his free hand. 

"How much did you drink?" Sakura frowned

"Only two cups, I take it he's a lightweight?" the stranger asked.

"Judging by the looks of it." Toko let out an annoyed sigh. "Come on, you need to sit down."

"No! I'mma run around the woods naked!"Kiyotaka declared.

"F-for fucks sake, come on." Toko huffed, taking his arm. "You're beyond wasted, and watered down beer n-none the less."

"Naaaah, I'm fiiiiine." he slurred. 

"Kiyotaka, come on." Sakura urged.

"No! I wanna stay with my new friend!" Kiyotaka argued. "He-" 

He didn't even get a second to process what happened, it happened so fast. A small gag before heaving over and vomiting on his new friend's shoes, luckily enough Sakura and Toko grabbed him and rushed him out of the woods and back to Sakura's car.

Kiyotaka lazily opened his eyes as he awoke in his own bed, his head felt as if someone took a jackhammer too it. He groaned as he sat up, covering his face as he recalled the night.

"Kill me..." he grumbled as he recalled the night.

Drinking, what was he thinking? Underage drinking went against everything he stood for! And what did it lead too? Him vomiting on a handsome stranger's shoes! 

His nose wrinkled as he noticed his uniform reeked of booze. Of course neither Toko or Sakura would bother changing him out of his uniform. Toko was saving herself for Byakuya and Sakura probably didn't feel too keen on undressing a man. Kiyotaka was about to remove his clothes, when he noticed a lump in one of his pockets. Odd, he didn't recall anything in that pocket before.

He reached inside and discovered a scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. 

4040164

\- Mondo Oowada 

Ps : You owe me a new pair of shoes.  
....

Kiyotaka groaned as he rolled onto his side to face the nightstand as his cellphone buzzed to life, it's screen emitting the only source of light besides the digital clock which joined it on the nightstand. 

Mondo grumbled tiredly and used one of the spare pillows to cover his face. Leaving Kiyotaka to be the one to answer it. 

With a tired huff Kiyotaka sat up and rubbed his eyes as his phone buzzed again. He unplugged his phone from its charger and brought it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered, hardly able to suppress a yawn.

"Kiyotaka? It's Sakura."

"Sakura?" he glanced over at the digital clock to see it was roughly around two in the morning. "Why are you calling at this hour? It's important to get enough sleep at night, especially in your condition."

"Kiyotaka, I do not wish to alarm you but..." there was a slight and worrying pause. "I awoke to use the bathroom and notice a bloody spot on my garments."

His eyes widen at her words, his heart began to race faster and faster. The word miscarriage danced and taunted him in his head. No, no, no, no, no. Him and Mondo just found out they were going to be dads weeks ago! They were waiting so long for it too happen, and to have it be ripped away like it was nothing.

"Are you experiencing any cramping?" he asked.

"None."

No cramping, okay... That was usually a good sign. From what he read online and through a few books mild to severe cramping was a concern when it came to miscarriages.

"C-Call a cab to take you to the hospital, I don't want you driving." Kiyotaka instructed. "Me and Mondo will meet you there."

"Understood, be careful." ironic, he should be telling her that. But before he could she hung up.

Without a second thought Kiyotaka turned on the lights and rushed to get changed, gathering his husband's clothes so he could change as well.

"Uhhh... What's going on?" Mondo asked through a yawn as Kiyotaka threw a shirt, socks, and a pair of pants at him.

"Get up, we need to leave." he ordered as he threw on a shirt.

"Dude it's like..." Mondo glanced briefly at the clock. "Two in the fucking morning, I got work..." he yawned a second time.

"It's Sakura." he explained and slipped on his shirt. "She noticed some bleeding."

Right away Mondo sprang out of their bed and too his feet. "Wait, is she-"

"I don't know, she isn't cramping so that's a good sign." he didn't even want to think about the word miscarriage, much less hear it out loud. "Just hurry up and get dressed, we're meeting her at the hospital."

He couldn't handle the despair of parenthood slipping through his and Mondo's fingers yet again. Please, please, please! If that karma stuff Yasuhiro rambled on about was real, please say good karma was going to sort this out and everything would be fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Mondo was a man of promises, and boy was he making them right now. To take out the trash whenever Kiyotaka told him too, to finally fix that creaky step on the staircase, complete all those unfinished projects he had around the house, spend more time with his husband instead of watching tv, even sell his fucking bike! He would do anything, he didn't want to lose this baby.

This could be their last chance to have a family. Adoption was difficult and could take years, in vitro was expensive as hell, one round cost them over ten grand and even that wasn't one hundred percent guaranteed that any of the fertilized eggs would take. But this one did, out of six eggs one took... It was true he always was iffy on the idea of using a surrogate, but that didn't mean he wanted to lose this one.

Mondo's eyes flickered opened upon feeling a gentle nudge on his shoulder.

"Mondo? Kiyotaka?" 

It was no surprise that him and his husband ended up dozing off in the chairs seeing as they left at such an early hour. Once Mondo's eyes adjusted to the bright glare of the hospital's fluorescent lights, he recognized Sakura clad in a powdered blue grown. 

"Shouldn't... you be lying down?" Wow, he was starting to sound like Kiyotaka. 

Sakura said nothing and nudged Kiyotaka.

"Wha....what?" Kiyotaka's eyes opened, wiping the drool that was leaking out of the side of his mouth. "Sakura? Why aren't you in bed? You should be resting until we get the results back." he lectured.

"The blood test results already came." Sakura explained.

"They did?" Mondo questioned. 

"You two were sleeping, I didn't wish to disturb you while you slept." she said.

"And?" Mondo asked, feeling his chest tighten. "What did the test say?" This was it, the next few words would confirm whether or not he and his husband lost their chances of becoming fathers. 

All of that fear was washed away when Sakura gave them a reassuring smile, smiling was good after all... Right?

"Everything is fine." she informed.

Both he and Kiyotaka let out a sigh of relief, glad they still had their shot at being parents.

"But what about the bleeding?" Kiyotaka inquired. 

"Quite a few people experience unexplained bleeding during pregnancy. It could had been something like pushing myself too hard at the gym despite drastically changing my routine." Sakura explained. "Despite that everything is fine. Though they are going to do an ultrasound, I figured you two might want to be awake to join me for it."

"Of course we would." Kiyotaka replied. "An opportunity to meet the child is, how could we turn that down?"

Well Mondo was already late enough for work, no point in actually going now. Hopefully the couple who had those stairs that needed to be built wouldn't mind. They had a handful of kids, so they probably would get it if he explained it was a family emergency seeing how he and his husband were having one. Plus he really did want to see the ultrasound up close and personal.

Roughly twenty minutes later they were all escorted to a different room that contained what he could only guess was the ultrasound machine and various posters about fetus development and pregnancy procession. Him and Kiyotaka sat across from Sakura as the doctor got her situated. 

After the Doctor applied a gob of gel to Sakura's midsection he flipped one of the many switches and sure enough the turned machine on.

"Now, let's see how the baby is doing." he hummed with a big smile and placed the wand on Sakura's middle, gliding across her abdomen. "There's the uterus." he pointed out onto the screen, then too the unmistakable little grey blob that was a fetus. "And that right there is the baby."

Mondo stared at the little outline finding himself unable to blink.

"Holy shit..." he said barely above a whisper. That was a freaking baby! 

"It's roughly the size of a grape at this point, which is normal for someone that's just over eight weeks." the doctor explained. "Everything seems perfectly fine, definitely no internal bleeding. So it confirms that the bleeding Sakura experience was just a false alarm." he added. "Shall we listen to the heartbeat?" 

He didn't even watch for an response before he pressed one of the many buttons on the machine. Instantly the room was filled with a sound Mondo could only describe as a repetitive 'whooshing' noise. Mondo didn't realize he had reached out to hold Kiyotaka's hand until his husband gave his calloused hand a tight yet friendly little squeeze.

"And the baby has a healthy heartbeat too." the doctor mused. 

"It's beating so fast." Kiyotaka said, his mouth agape as his eyes remained locked on the screen. 

Mondo nearly forgotten about Sakura, it wasn't until he notice her eyes fixated on he and Kiyotaka as opposed to the screen. Her lips formed a pleased smile as she watched them. 

"Well, everything seems perfectly fine." the doctor informed and handed Sakura some tissues to clean the gel off of her stomach. "I don't think your have much to worry about, just take it easy and take care of yourself." he informed before glancing over at him and Kiyotaka. "Shall I print some pictures of the ultrasound for you?"

"Of course." Kiyotaka nodded then looked at Mondo. "Think of how perfect they would be if we framed them and put them up on the wall. We should buy a frame after this."

"Taka, you're literally married to a carpenter. Who needs to buy one when I can do one up." he chuckled just as Sakura got up from her spot.

"You can get the photos at the front desk, best of luck to all of you." the doctor said with a smile before they gathered their things and left.

Armed with the ultrasound pictures and the baby's heartbeat still pleasantly stuck in his head, Mondo drove with him and Kiyotaka in the front and Sakura in the back since he insisted on driving her home. He took a brief moment to adjust the car's rearview mirror and used it to glance at Sakura for a split second.

"Your pretty quiet, doing okay back there?" Not that Sakura was much of a chatter box to begin with, but it did seem unusual she didn't speak during the ultrasound.

"Yes, no need to fret." Sakura replied. "It's just refreshing to see you two so happy."

"Oh, before I forget." Kiyotaka started as he dug through his pockets and pulled out his wallet. "How much did the cab cost? We're pay you back for it."

"That won't be necessary." she declined.

"Sakura, we're more or less renting your womb for nine months." Mondo stated as he drove. "It's the least we could do."

"No. Like I said before, it's refreshing to see you so happy. And that is its own reward."


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura needed physical activity, she was far from one of those people who could lounge in bed all day and watch television. Despite having already drastically changing her routine to better suit her condition, that scare she had when she bled left her far too worried to go back to the routine she altered.

Although that didn't mean Sakura intend to remain doing nothing that involved physical activity. She decided to dedicate herself to yoga and swimming for the rest of the pregnancy. Both sports were on the more gentle side and proven to be healthy during pregnancy. Sakura would undoubtedly need a new swimsuit once she entered the second and third trimester. But that was something she could put off until the time came. For now she decided to worry only about obtaining a yoga mat, something she could get both easily and cheaply thanks to Yasuhiro Hagakure, who just so happened have one he was willing to part with.

She knocked on the door to his apartment. After awhile the sound of him fidgeting with the locks on the other side could be heard. Once the door opened there stood Hiro.

"Sakura?" he asked and rubbed his eyes. "Why are you here so early?"

"Hiro, it's two in the afternoon." she corrected.

"Huh... oh yeah, I stayed up till like three watching these online videos." he explained through a yawn. "Remember I told you aliens adducted my hamburger one time? I wanted to look more into it. See if their was any other similar cases." He stepped aside. "Come inside, the mat should be here... somewhere."

Upon taking a step inside his apartment Sakura was instantly hit with a strong smokey smell. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. She noticed that lately her sense of smell could rival that of a canine. And as if that wasn't enough certain smells seemed to trigger nausea. 

"Are you burning incense?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I lit a stick real quick once I heard you at the door." Hiro replied as he lazily stretched. "Figured since I haven't cleaned it might freshen up the place." he explained as he tried to kick a few dirty socks under the couch and out of Sakura's sight.

Truthfully she would had preferred the scent of smelly socks and fast food over the sickening aroma of smoke. Normally it wouldn't had bothered her, but with her heighten sense of smell it was nothing short of being hell for Sakura. She covered her mouth and raced pass Hiro and too the waste basket to vomit in. 

A few seconds into heaving Yasuhiro came over and held her hair back.

"Crap, you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah... Mind putting your incense stick out?" Sakura requested as soon as she felt her nausea come to what she hoped was a halt for the day. "The smell is rather strong."

"No problem." Hiro immediately raced to his bedroom, returning after a few short seconds. "You feeling alright? I got a VIP client coming in for a reading, I really can't be sick for it." 

"Don't worry, it's not contagious." she reassured.

"Want some water?"

"That would be appreciated." 

Sakura sat herself on Hiro's couch just as he returned with a glass of water. 

"Here you go." he said and handed her the glass.

"Thanks." Sakura replied before bringing the glass to her lips and began to drink deeply, washing away the bitter taste of vile vomit. 

Sakura didn't realize Yasuhiro staring at her with his mouth hung open until she downed the glass. She blinked in confusion and looked at him. Did she have puke on her face or something?

"Is something troubling you?" she inquired.

"You're glowing..." he commented. "And you're sick..." Hiro covered his mouth.

There was no point in trying to lie, Hiro caught her. 

"I know what you're thinking." she started and tucked a lock of hair behind her head. "And you're right."

Hiro gasped. "No way! I totally saw it! Shit, I should had warned you.... But I forgot."

"Excuse me?"

"What was it like? Did they probe you? What was the inside of the ship like?" he floored her with confusing questions. "Were tentacles involved at some point?"

"Yasuhiro, what on earth are you going on about?" As usual, the more Hiro talked the less she understood what was coming out of his mouth.

"Alien abduction." he blinked, now looking equally confused. "Wait... That isn't what you meant?"

"No, it wasn't." Sakura confirmed.

"Then what were you talking about?" he questioned.

"Remember how Mondo and Taka announced they were trying to start a family?" she asked, Hiro nodded. "And how they were either going to adopt or find a surrogate?"

"Well yeah, I mean after all having kids is a pretty big deal." Hiro replied. 

"You see, they decided to use a surrogate." 

"Okay...." his eyes lit up. "Wait, Are you saying..."

"I'm the surrogate." 

She hated having to reveal the big news and rob the joy of sharing the news from Mondo and Kiyotaka. This was their child after all, she was just playing a small part in helping her two friends finally achieve fatherhood. 

"Seriously?! No fucking way!" Hiro gasped. "You're pregnant?!"

"Yes." she nodded. "I am, that's the whole point of me being their surrogate." 

"Well, we certainly got a lot to talk about. Want some tea?" he offered.

"If it's no trouble then sure." she could never turn down a cup of tea.

With that Hiro exited his small and cramped living room and went to his equally small and cramped kitchen. Soon after hearing what she could assume was a mug shattering and a couple swear words, Hiro returned with two mugs of tea.

"Here you go." he mused and sat down next to her.

"Thank you." Sakura said as she took the mug, taking a small sip of the herbal tea.

"Okay, I gotta know," he started before taking a sip and smacking his lips. "Who's idea was it?"

"To be a surrogate?" Sakura inquired. "It was my own."

"Seriously?" a puzzled expression spread on his face.

"Yeah, Mondo and Taka never asked me too." she explained. "The whole thing was my idea."

"Which brings me too my second question." Hiro spoke before sipping his tea again. "Why? I mean I just can't really picture you pregnant. N-no offence, but won't it be a pain in the ass? I know how you are with protein shakes and working out intensely. I can't imagine you going without those for nine months. It's like a fish without water."

"Temporary parting with those things will be inconvenient, that is true." honestly, she missed her typical routine as if she was missing a dear friend. "But my inconvenience will be for a greater cause. You should had seen their faces when they saw the ultrasound. I can't even describe how happy they were."

"I'll bet." Hiro chuckled. "Speaking of which, how are you handling it?"

"Overall I'm fine, though the nausea is proving to be difficult to manage." Sakura explained. Even just bringing up her morning sickness (which actually tended to happen at random points throughout the day) made her feel ill.

"You know," Hiro started as he tapped his chin in thought. "I heard if you swallow the cum of the baby daddy it helps morning sickness."

"Hiro, as much as a dear friend you are to me, if you're suggesting what I think your suggesting..." she warned. She wasn't THAT desperate to put a stop to her nausea. 

"What? No. Just something I came across online." he reassured. "Though I do know some other remedies that might be up your alley."

"You do?" 

"Yeah, one time I was doing a reading for this pregnant client." Hiro explained. "I spent more time holding her hair back while she puked into a waste bin than any actual fortune telling. She already paid up front, and a pretty damn good sum of money too. So out of the goodness of my heart I did a quick Google search on how to handle morning sickness and got a bunch of shit for her that worked." he grinned. "I got a pretty good tip too."

"Care to share?" Sakura requested.

"Even better, let's go get them now. It's pretty basic stuff, like sour candies, ginger, herbal teas, that kind of stuff." he said and got up, swiping his car keys off the table. 

.....

After a quick drive to a few shops Sakura was carrying a plastic bag containing a few bags of sour candy, grapefruit, the largest bottle of ginger ale the store had, mint, some ginger candies, and boxes containing various teas. Hopefully one of these would help her get her stomach under control, she had no intentions of finding any new surprising scents that would trigger her sickness.

"Hungry?" Hiro asked, carrying his own plastic bag of snacks for himself. "There's a cafe right there."

Sakura nodded, she didn't feel like puking at the moment. So she probably could manage to nibble on something, especially since she needed the calories. "Sounds good."

"Sweet, I heard this place has great coffee." he mused and went on ahead inside.

Luckily the cafe had no smells that made her feel sick. It was a rather cozy looking place with a dark green and beige colour scheme. Complete with the basic set of chairs, tables, chalkboard menu and of course a display case to show all the baked goods such as cookies, dessert squares, donuts, and fudge. 

The place wasn't pack, in fact their were only three people ahead of her and Hiro. The small line wasn't budging at all, one could had easily guess that the service was slow, but that was not the truth at all. Hiro tapped his foot impatiently, brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Sheesh, what the hell is taking so long?" he complained to Sakura. 

It was then Sakura recognized her. The shorts, the big eyes, the way she wore her hair. It was donut girl. Paying no mind to the people behind her as her eyes remained stuck on the array of donuts, trying to make up her mind on which one to get with her coffee in one hand.

"You're checking her out, aren't you." Hiro teased with a smirk on his face.

"Nonsense." Sakura scoffed.

"Don't lie to me, I can totally tell your into her." he mused.

"If I was, and I'm not saying I am, I'm pregnant."

"So? Ain't like its yours technically speaking."

"I don't even know if she's into girls." she frowned.

"Really? Because my pan-scan says otherwise." Hiro stated.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Pan-scan?" she repeated.

"You know, you got a gay-dar because your gay, bisexuals get bi-fi, and pansexuals like me got the pan-scan." Hiro informed. 

"You got to be kidding me. That is the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard." Sakura frowned.

"Oh really? Sounds like you need a little push."

"Hiro-"

Before she could give him a warning Hiro went over and knocked the cup of coffee out of donut girl's hands, causing lukewarm coffee to spill and her to yelp.

"Whoops! Sorry about that!" he apologized and quickly yanked out a handful of napkins from the napkin dispenser and thrush them at Sakura. "I'll see if they can loan us a mop or something." he said and sprinted off, only slowing down to whisper "Go get her preggers" into Sakura's ear.

Sakura blinked and glanced at donut girl, who froze briefly before grumbling and grabbing a few napkins and trying to clean up the spilled coffee. She kneeled down and using the napkins Hiro had forced in her hand to help clean up the mess.

Donut girl looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." Sakura replied.

"Hey... You look familiar." she said and narrowed her eyes, trying to pinpoint where they had met before.

"I believe we had an encounter at the grocery store." Sakura reminded.

"Oh! That's it, I definitely remember you now!" she mused. "In the tea section, right?" 

"That's the one." Sakura nodded.

"I'm Aoi Asahina, and you?"

"Sakura Oogami."


	6. Chapter 6

"So, you haven't told Aoi yet?" Kiyotaka inquired as he poured tea into a fragile white teacup. 

"No." Sakura replied and lifted the cup to her lips when Kiyotaka was done pouring. "But I intend to tonight. Speaking of how do you plan to share the news?"

"Definitely at some point this month. I doubt Hiro can keep his mouth shut about it much longer." Kiyotaka said as his eyes rested on Sakura's abdomen. Finally at the fourth month her stomach had a curve to it, making it all the more real that he and Mondo were becoming parents. "We're thinking of just a bonfire with our friends to tell them."

"A bonfire?" Sakura smiled. "Thats how you first met Mondo, at a bonfire."

"Indeed it is, ironically we didn't think of it. But it's a happy coincidence on our part." Kiyotaka explained. Ever since he and Mondo met for the first time he couldn't help but keep associating his husband with bonfires, whenever he smelled smoke he always expected the smell of Mondo's hairspray to fallow. "All we can do is hope Hiro doesn't spill the beans until then."

"The only hard part I foresee is talking Byakuya into attending." Sakura joked. "He never was one for small outdoorsy events. It was a miracle he even attended that party in the woods."

"If he chooses to miss out its his lost. Though of we play the 'we really want to see his and Toko's son' card he might consider it." he said after another sip of tea. 

Once again he found his gaze drifting to Sakura's belly. No many how many times he looked at it, the very fact his and Mondo's child was in there always amazed him. 

"Taka?"

He blinked, snapping out of his train of thought. "Was I staring? My apologies. It's becoming a force of habit lately." Kiyotaka apologized.

"Here." she replied, taking ahold of his hand and settling it on her midsection.

It was hard to describe the feeling, metaphorically it felt soft and warm, or maybe that was just how Kiyotaka was feeling right now emotionally. Although no movement at the moment, he could definitely feel something in there.

"Have they been active lately." Kiyotaka asked, his hand delicately gliding across her midsection in hopes of feeling a kick or any kind of movement. 

"Occasionally, but overall not much." she replied. "But when their is I will inform you and Mondo right away. I know how important it is to you and him." 

"Thank you, we both appreciate it." Kiyotaka replied and decided to remove his hand for the time being, not wanting to invade Sakura's personal space any longer. "On another note what are you and Aoi doing?"

"We're going to see a movie, nothing too fancy." Sakura explained. "What we're be seeing is unknown to me. I suspect me and Aoi will decide when we get there." 

"Sounds excellent, speaking of which when will we meet this Aoi?" he asked.

He recalled back during their years in high school Sakura never dated much. Perhaps it was the lack of sapphic women or the fact like him, Sakura was never a social butterfly? But none the less he was proud his friend was involved with someone.

"It's not necessarily a...da-date."

"Either way, I wish you the best of luck on expanding you're social circle." Kiyotaka mused with a grin. "As well as breaking the news to her."

"Thank you, speaking of which I better leave." Sakura said, throwing on her hoodie, which was just baggy enough to conceal her middle. "I would hate to have her waiting."

"Definitely, punctuality is important after all! Have a fun time!"

....

"Sakura!" Aoi called with a wave as she raced up. "I'm so glad you were able to make it."

"Of course I would come." okay, perhaps now would be the time to slip in a little flirtation. "I fail to think of any reason why I wouldn't want to spend time with you." she said with a smile.

Sadly that went right over Aoi's head,who immediately looked up at all the movies that were available to see. The thing about this theatre in particular was not only did it show the newest movies, but it also showed films that were no longer considered new. They could had came out a year ago or ten, even longer. 

"Oh! Wanna see Helter Skelter?!" Aoi asked, poking to the movie title under the selections. Definitely not one of the newer films, but also not a film that was older than the two of them.

"What is it about?"

"I haven't seen it, but I read that it's this psychological thriller about a model who undergoes this creepy full body plastic surgery and she starts breaking down physically and mentally." she explained and paused. "If that's too weird for you we can see something else."

"It's fine. Helter Skelter sounds very interesting." really any movie sounded interesting to her since Sakura never started to watch them until she gained her group of friends in high school. Though she did dislike action, mainly because the fight scenes always bugged her with the inaccurate portrayal of fighting. 

"Sweet, let's go get tickets and popcorn!" Aoi mused and held Sakura's large and calloused hand with her much smaller soft one and led her to the concession stand. 

Yet again Sakura was reminded of Aoi's sweet tooth, instead of regular popcorn she got herself the largest bag of caramel corn that they had and a few bags of gummy candies. Sakura on the other hand loaded up on sour candies, apparently nausea tended to stop at the fourth month of pregnancy. But that certainly wasn't the case for Sakura, in fact she actually think it got worst. She refused to let it interrupt her day, especially now. Armed with her popcorn, ginger ale in the largest cup size they offered, and half a dozen bags of sour candies they made their way into the showing room carrying their bounty of overpriced movie theatre food.

"So where do you prefer to sit?" Aoi asked as she looked upon row after row of seats.

"Normally in the back." Sakura responded.

"Me too. I don't get people who sit in the front, I hate having to constantly look up. It makes my neck hurt so much afterwards." she explained. 

"I am the very same. It's not worth the stiffness." Sakura agreed.

"Exactly! I want to relax and enjoy a movie, you can't relax with a sore neck." Aoi nodded. "Speaking of which we should hurry up and grab some seats."

After getting situated in the seats furtherest from the screen, the previews began to roll. It was then her eyes widen in horror as she got a whiff of onions. A few seats across from them was a group of teenagers, among the typical popcorn and pop, they also had either onion rings or nachos and hotdogs topped with pieces of onions. Of all things why did it have to be onions?! 

Sakura took a long swing of ginger ale and torn open one of her six bags of sour candies, poured some into the palm of her hand and popped them in her mouth.

"You really must love sour candy." Aoi mused through a mouthful of caramel corn. "There's this candy called 'Toxic Waste Candy' and apparently it's super sour. Maybe you're like it."

"By the sound of it I definitely will."

....

Barely and hour into Helter Skelter and Sakura already went through her drink and all six bags of sour candies and still managed to feel ill. Even with the dreadful smelling food eaten it's scent somehow managed to still linger in the air. Not to mention one of the teens went to get another box of onion rings. 

Her stomach churned and that was it for Sakura. She sprang out of her seat and ran down to the exit, covering her mouth.

"Sakura?!" Aoi called only to be shushed by the other people in the movie theatre.

It was some kind of miracle she managed to make it to the women's washroom in time, and on top of that it was completely empty, leaving all stalls available to her. She dove into the nearest stall and the sour candies and popcorn she ate made a very unwelcome reappearance. 

"Sakura?" Aoi called again as she entered the washroom. Noticing her right away given Sakura was in too much of a rush to lock the stall's door. "Ah! Are you alright?!"

"Ye-yes, I'm fine." she reassured. Was this what they called déjà vu? She was in quite a similar situation with Hiro awhile ago.

Aoi frowned and carefully made her way into the stall, reaching over to give Sakura's back a sympathetic rub. "If you were sick you should had told me."

"I'm... not sick..." she replied, trying to catch her breath. "With an.... illness or bug.... I'm pregnant."

There was a long pause, Sakura could only guess Aoi was processing what she just told her. 

"To make things clear, it's not mine." Sakura decided to clarify. 

"Not yours?" Aoi tilted her head in confusion. "But like... Isn't it inside of you?"

"I have two dear friends of mine who desperately want a child. I can't think of any better people who deserve to be fathers than them. Therefore I had offered to be their surrogate to help them become fathers." 

Aoi's hands flew to her cheeks, her eyes sparkled upon hearing that. "Oh... Oh! That's so... brave of you?!" it came out sounding so unsure than Aoi probably intended too. 

"I know it must seem... alien to you."

"N-not at all. Well... Maybe a little bit. But I'm just surprise, I-I really mean it when I say it's brave of you." Aoi said and offered Sakura her hand to help her up. Without thinking Sakura took it and lifted herself up. "I can hardly imagine having something living inside of me, let alone endure that for someone else."

"Thank you for understanding. And to be clear I never intended to keep this from you, I actually planned to inform you of my situation after the movie." Sakura explained. "Though I never intended my nausea to get in the way. For that I am sorry."

"Don't apologize! It's not your fault, you can't help it." Aoi quickly reassured. 

"Very well then.... Shall we go see the rest of the movie?" 

"Do you think you're get sick again?"

"... Most likely."

"Come on, let's get you home."

....

Once Sakura returned home Aoi insisted on making sure Sakura was comfortable in bed, even going as far as to tuck her in.

"Oh, I got an idea!" Aoi mused and reached into her purse, pulling out a tablet and flopping down on the bed with Sakura. 

"What are you doing?" Sakura inquired with a raise of a single brow.

"You feel like watching a movie still?" Aoi asked, booting up the tablet. 

"Yes. Would it be possible to watch Helter Skelter?" 

"Of course."

"From the beginning? I'm sorry but I wasn't able to properly focus on the film. Only if it's not a problem."

"It's no problem at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helter Skelter is also a manga, I have read both the manga and seen the movie and truthfully I prefer the manga. Although both of them are really good. I would highly suggest checking them out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, Chihiro is written as a trans woman.

Mondo huffed as he carried out the cooler, balancing two boxes of graham crackers, chocolate and a plastic bag full of marshmallows on top of the cooler's lid. Also he had a couple of what he could only describe as miniature pitchforks for roasting the marshmallows that Taka made him dig out from the basement, which was nearly filled to the brim with boxes. Maybe his husband was right, maybe he should clean up the basement. The majority of the shit down there was his anyway....

"Alright, I got the food and drinks!" he announced as he made his way towards the fire pit on the lawn that was surrounded by lawn chairs. "So go fucking nuts." 

Soon as he set everything down he pulled up a lawn chair and sat himself down, letting everyone gather whatever they wanted.

"Uhh... is there anything non-alcoholic to drink?" Chihiro asked, watching a few others get cans of beer from the cooler.

"Of course, we got a few cans of pop and some bottles of water in there." Kiyotaka informed. "I know you dislike liquor so we made sure to supply plenty of non-alcoholic drinks for you and anyone who intends to drive." 

"Thanks." Chihiro said and grabbed a water bottle.

"Mind getting me one too?" Sakura requested, already spearing a marshmallow on one of the metal rods.

"Sure." Chihiro nodded and grabbed a second bottle for her.

"It's been so long since we got together like this." Makoto mused, roasting a marshmallow to a golden brown.

"Not long enough." Byakuya commented in a passive aggressive manner.

Mondo couldn't even remember why he was friends with this prick or why he even bothered to invite him.

"C-could you take Akira? I have to call my editor real quick." Toko's asked.

Wait, now he remembered.

On Toko's lap was her and Byakuya's son. Surprisingly despite Akira possessing his father's blue eyes they didn't have the same nature that Byakuya's eyes had.

"I'll take him!" Mondo immediately offered. Since he was officially having a kid it seemed only right. 

"A-alright...." Toko frowned and got up, handing Akira over to him. 

The infant was too busy gnawing on a cloth cube with his toothless little mouth to mind the switch. 

"He's getting big." Mondo mused and ran a hand through Akira's hair which perfectly matched Toko.

He couldn't help but think of what his and Kiyotaka's kid would look like. Realistically only one of them would be the biological father, it was the whole reason they selected egg donors who resembled themselves. It was gonna be clear as day who was the baby's biological dad when it was born. The very image of a baby with his husband's eyes and hair would be rather cute. He couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of a baby with eyebrows as fierce as Kiyotaka's. Was that even possible?

"He's meeting all the expectations of an infant his age if that's what you're asking." Byakuya stated as Toko got up to leave for a moment. 

Mondo paid no mind to him and instead choose to focus on Akira. The green cube that the infant was gnawing on slipped through his tiny hands, luckily Mondo caught it just in the knick of time before it hit the ground.

"Gotta be careful, squirt." he said with a grin and handed the stuffed cube back to him to slobber on.

Apparently the infant didn't heed his warning, the cube fell time after time again. And of course each time Mondo caught it and handed it back. Though it was roughly around the fourth time he caught it and handed it back to Akira that Taka chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Mondo inquired.

"He's doing that on purpose." his husband pointed out.

"He is?"

"Outsmarted by an infant, why am I not surprised?" Byakuya smirked.

"Bull s-" Mondo managed to stop himself from swearing, not keen on the idea that Kiyotaka would lecture him for swearing in front of a baby. "You probably taught him to do that."

"No, just something he seemed to pick up somewhere. Though I'm certainly not complaining." he said.

He looked back to the baby on his lap, who seemed to had grown bored of dropping his toy and returned to gnawing on it. Heh, smart little bugger. Not that Mondo was surprise to see the prick's smartness rubbing off on Akira, like father like son it seemed. Maybe he'll get the chance to say shit like that out loud when his own kid finally arrived.

"I-I'm back." Toko announced as she returned, scooping up Akira from Mondo, even though he would had been more than happy to keep holding him. "Y-you won't believe what m-my editor did this time..." she grumbled and sat back in her lawn chair. "She's editing someone else's book as w-well and almost got them mixed up. Imagine! Getting my works confused w-with some cheaply written mystery that is so predictable that e-even a child could figure it out within the first few pages." she complained.

"Anyone else got something that's actually exciting to talk about?" Leon asked as he took a swing of his beer and glanced at Chihiro. "You?"

"Uhhh.... Well..." she twiddled her thumbs. "I... I got a consultation for b-bottom surgery coming up..."

"Really? That's fantastic!" Kiyotaka mused with a grin. 

"Yeah, it's a little nerve wrecking though..." Chihiro confessed. "Surgery of any kind is always terrifying. You never know if something could go wrong."

"I predict it's gonna go perfectly fine!" Hiro mused.

"Thank you, that's reassuring." Chihiro smiled. "But enough about me, anyone else?"

"Me and Mondo actually have an announcement." Kiyotaka's face broke into a big grin. "It's the whole reason we arranged this get together in the first place." 

Mondo grinned as well and put an arm around Kiyotaka, he took a brief moment to glance at Sakura who just smiled as she sandwiched a marshmallow and a sliver of milk chocolate between two graham crackers. 

"You wanna tell them or me?" Mondo asked. 

"May I?" Kiyotaka requested. "I'm so giddy just thinking about it."

"Go ahead, man." he chuckled. "The floor is yours."

Kiyotaka cleared this throat before he began. "As many as you know, me and Mondo had been wanting to start a family for some time, four years in fact." he glanced at Mondo. "Why don't you tell them the rest? It's only fair!" he urged.

"Uhhh... Well." he scratched the back of his head, he was never one for making announcements like this. "In roughly five months me and Taka are gonna have a kid."

The group burst into a round of 'Awww' and 'congratulations' instantly as the news sunk in.

"That's really amazing." Chihiro mused. 

"Thank you all, we found the perfect surrogate!" Kiyotaka beamed. 

"More like she found us." Mondo joked.

"Who is she?" Celestia inquired. "From what I understand the process of getting a surrogate was always time consuming and difficult."

"It's Sakura!" Hiro blurted out, unable to contain his excitement over the news. 

Sakura covered her mouth to hide the fact she was licking chocolate and marshmallow off of her lips as everyone glanced at her.

"Really?" Leon asked.

"It is as Hiro said." she nodded. "I am indeed their surrogate."

Mondo chuckled as he watch everyone floor Sakura with questions such as how far along she was, what made her offer to be a surrogate, how the pregnancy was going, etc. 

He decided to take the short break he would have from the attention to look at Akira, who remained on Toko's lap as he chewed on his plush little toy. Seeing Toko and Byakuya's son just made him all the more excited to have his own kid, soon that would be him with a baby on his lap.

He couldn't wait.

....

With the guests gone, the fire put out, everything cleaned up, and Mondo passed out in bed, Kiyotaka decided to venture into the basement in search of his old baby items.

Granted he and his father donated most of the items when he got older, but their were still quite a few things he held onto for sentimental reasons such as his baby blanket, his first stuffed animal, and a few onesies that his child could use once they arrived. Though there was one flaw in this plan, the box containing the said items was the only box Kiyotaka neglected to properly label. 

And on top of that the majority of the boxes in the basement were Mondo and of course none were labeled. No surprise given his husband never had organization as a priority. 

So here he was now, sitting in the basement with a box cutter and opening up box after box in hopes of finding his baby things to use for his own baby. 

So far he found boxes of old CDs, motorcycle magazines, DVDs, and old clothes. Kiyotaka let out a huff as he placed another box before him, this was the last one he would open before he called it a night. Perhaps he could enlist the help of Mondo in the morning to assist him in his search if this last box proved to be nothing of use.

He poked the box cutter's blade into the layer of tape, breaking through the tape and the cardboard. He then dragged the blade downwards. Releasing the seal that kept the objects inside hidden. With the tape out of the way, Kiyotaka opened the cardboard flaps, although it was once again not the baby items he it certainly peeked his interest unlike the junk he discovered before.

There was Mondo, in a photo that was kept in a wooden frame. But Mondo wasn't alone, a man with black hair and sporting a pompadour (although not to the outrageous extent of Mondo's) had his arm wrapped around Mondo, both sporting big smiles.

Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes as he inspected the photo. Odd... Was this some kind of ex-boyfriend? No, that was impossible. For starters he just didn't get that kind of vibe from the other man. Secondly were the eyes, both he and Mondo had similar lilac eyes... A little too similar.

Was this Mondo's father? No, he looked far too young. But there had to be some kind of blood relation to the two. 

In an attempt to seek out answers he flipped the frame over and carefully freed the picture from the frame so he could inspect it further.

On the back was not only his husband's name written, but the name 'Daiya Oowada' scribbled alongside it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, Akira is named after Byakuya's voice actor.


	8. Chapter 8

Kiyotaka couldn't get that photo out of his mind when morning came. Mondo never mentioned any family, especially not what he assumed was a brother. He didn't want to believe Mondo was lying, he had been straight forward about his involvement in a biker gang. What reason did he have to keep this from him? They both were so honest with each other, why would he lie?

Kiyotaka did his best to keep those thoughts suppressed for the time being, today was a supposed to be a special day. Filling the once again empty room with everything it needed for their child. Originally they had done this with the child they were going to adopt from the teen mother, but once she changed her mind they returned everything, and what they didn't return they either sold or donated. They had a blank canvas to work with now.

"Okay, I believe we should start looking for a crib for and then-" Kiyotaka paused, realizing Mondo wasn't even next to him. 

Great, he already lost his husband. Not an ideal start to the shopping trip. He let out a huff and pushed the shopping cart, hopefully Mondo didn't wander far. Sheesh, when he put it like it sounded like he already had a child. Luckily Mondo returned quickly, clutching something.

"Dude, check this shit out." he grinned and held up a leather jacket that was just the right size for a baby. "It's perfect, right?"

Kiyotaka laughed, it certainly would be for any kid that had Mondo as a father. "Of course, leather jackets are the perfect attire for when it's cold."

"See? Practical, comfortable, and gender neutral." he mused and added it to the cart without any hesitation. 

"Why would that last one matter?" Kiyotaka questioned.

"Shit man, did you forget already? I want the gender to be a surprise." he reminded.

"But that makes picking out stuff more complicated." Kiyotaka argued. "And what about the name?"

"We're figure it out." he reassured with a shrug. 

"Well now that you're back again we can start looking at cribs." 

"Nah, I can just build one." Mondo dismissed with a way of his hand. 

"On top of all those other projects you were gonna do?" Kiyotaka scoffed. 

"Hey, I'll get around to those." he defended. 

He held his tongue and decided to just drop the issue of the crib. They could always debate about that another time, and he wanted this shopping trip to be a fun one after all. 

"Let us move forward to the stroller section then." he said and pushed the cart forward.

Mondo fallowed, walking next to him until they reached the section of the store that contained strollers.

Right away Kiyotaka dug out his phone began to connect to the free wifi.

"What are you doing? Ain't we suppose to pick out a stroller?" his husband asked. 

"That's exactly what I'm doing." he responded as he glanced over at the display of strollers. 

"Taka, I swear to god if you're gonna look up every review and rating of everything we buy..." Mondo warned with a frown, clearly having no intention of spending all day standing around in Babies-R-Us.

"Nonsense, I did my research prior to coming here." Kiyotaka said. "I am simply double checking my findings on the strollers I had in mind." he clarified before eyeing up the boxes and pointed to one of the dozens of strollers. "There, that one had a four and a half star rating and the most positive reviews." 

Mondo rolled his eyes. "Does it come with built in air bags?" he joked before going over and lifting up the large box with a grunt before adding it to the cart. 

Kiyotaka paid no mind to the comment and mentally checked the stroller off of the list of things they needed for the nursery. "I heard they were having a sale on parenting books. So I want to check that out."

"Couldn't you just find stuff online?"

"Those parenting hack videos don't count, though I will admit some of those 'hacks' could be useful..." he begrudgingly admitted. "But I prefer the feeling of a book in my hand over looking at a screen." he stated. "I know you aren't much of a book person, so feel free to go play with the toys in the toy department."

"Play? I'm not six years old." Mondo glared and crossed his arms.

"No, but don't think I haven't noticed that train set you circled in the store's catalog." Kiyotaka reminded. "As well as those little toy motorcycles." 

"What kid wouldn't want those kinds of toys? I would had killed for that kind of shit when I was a kid." he huffed. "Plus the train set was on sale, it's a damn good investment." he pouted and walked off.

Kiyotaka chuckled and made his way to the book section. Originally he intended only to grab two or three books about parenting and child development, but being the studious man he was, Kiyotaka ended up stockpiling on the literature. 

"I leave you alone for five minutes and you get us a whole damn library." Mondo joked as he approached Kiyotaka, a toy train set under his arm.

"I want to be prepared." Kiyotaka defended, adding one last book to the cart. 

"You don't seriously think I can read through all these in five months, right?" Mondo asked as he picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages. "Especially since it doesn't have pictures." 

"I can simply summarized them for you." he replied and watched Mondo add the train set into the cart. "Plus I'm positive the majority of the books have documentary adaptions you can watch online somewhere." Kiyotaka said, about to reach out and inspect another book until Mondo quickly took his hand. 

"Let's call it a day before you convert our house into a library that could give the one Byakuya owns a run for his money." he chuckled.

....

"Eiji sounds good for a boy." Mondo said out loud as Kiyotaka drove, his nose buried in the book of baby names he had picked up.

Kiyotaka wrinkled his nose. "I know someone who named their dog Eiji."

"And?"

"I'm not going to name our baby after a canine." Kiyotaka stated.

"What's wrong with that?" Mondo asked, putting the put down for a moment. 

"It would just be weird. It's practically the equivalent to naming our baby 'Spot' or 'Lucky'." he replied, stopping at the red light.

"Taka, if you're shitting on dogs I swear I'll divorce you right now." Mondo warned with a scowl. 

"Don't be such a child, I simply don't want to think about a dog whenever I say or hear my child's name." Kiyotaka said. "Plus doesn't Eiji mean second born? This is our first kid, it wouldn't make any sense."

"Fair enough I suppose." Mondo shrugged and glanced out the window just as the light turn green.

Once home everything they bought for the baby was placed in the nursery. While the many books were placed on their bedroom's nightstand for Kiyotaka's ritual of reading before he retired to bed. 

"Think I'm gonna get a head start on that crib." Mondo declared with an excited smile on his face.

Kiyotaka was tempted to once again remind him that the majority (if not all) of his projects that he intended to do remained unfinished. But decided against it, his husband looked so ecstatic about building a crib. Perhaps he would actually fallow through with this project? Their child seemed to be good motivation, Mondo did manage make those photo frames for the ultrasound pictures after all. 

"Makes sure it fallows all the safety guidelines, under no circumstances will I put our child in a deathtrap." he warned.

"Come on, put some fucking trust in me." Mondo rolled his eyes before leaving for his little workshop in the garage. 

Mondo's last words hit him hard. How could he talk about trust when he was keeping something from him... 

He needed answers, he needed to know who Daiya Oowada was. One way or another.


	9. Chapter 9

It was an odd day to go swimming, the sky was grey and their was a drizzle of rain. Far from the sunny and warm weather that was considered the norm to swim. But for Sakura and Aoi it just meant they would probably have less people to share the heated indoor pool with and an easier time finding parking at the sports centre. 

"Look, they have parking just for people who are expecting!" Aoi pointed out, gesturing to the pink little sign near a parking place as she drove.

"That won't be necessary, I am perfectly capable of walking from a normal parking place." Sakura said.

"Nope. You're five months pregnant, we're parking here." she mused and parked the car in said spot.

Yet another thing Sakura couldn't get used too was all the special treatment she was getting lately. Offers to carry her groceries, spots on buses, and even parking places like this were made just for her. Sakura was far from fragile, anyone who glanced at her would had gotten that right away. It was probably just the polite thing to do for someone who was pregnant. Though she couldn't help but feel it felt forced. No one aside from her social circles asked questions and she never had to put up with strangers wanting to feel her midsection. Not that she would had minded, only thing that was seemed awkward to her was explaining she was a surrogate rather than a mother. 

With the car parked they made their way inside, after a brief visit to the front desk they entered the locker room. 

Sakura couldn't wait to get into the water, lately she had been dealing with pain in her lower back, which apparently was normal during the fifth month. She had hoped a dip in the local indoor pool would help with that.

It seemed her hunch about the pool being empty was spot on judging by the state of the changing room. Only three of the lockers were in use. With no lines to wait in to get a changing room, Sakura and Aoi managed to get inside one and change.

Aoi sported a baby blue two piece swimsuit. Sakura on the other hand opted for something a bit more modest in the form of a black one piece. Soon after a quick rinse in the showers the two headed to the indoor pool.

The area consisted of not one, but multiple pools. kiddie pool for children, a bigger pool complete with little slides and some water toys for the older children, a hot tub (something that was strictly off limits for Sakura) and lastly a pool made for teenagers, adults, or the more experienced swimmers in general. Making it ideal to swim laps. 

"We practically have the pool to ourselves!" Aoi mused happily.

The only people currently at the pool was a mother and her two young kids at the kiddie pool and an older man who seemed to have only come to use the hot tub. Both of which Sakura and Aoi had no intention of using.

Aoi immediately raced to the diving board and cannon balled flawlessly into the pool with a big splash.

Sakura chuckled, not like she would expect any less from the ultimate swimmer. Such a shame she didn't attend Hope's Peak, they most likely would had been friends much sooner if she did. Friends... her mind danced around that word. Sakura definitely was interested in Aoi in a way that was more than platonic. But dating has never been her strength, she only ever had one girlfriend and judging by her once again single relationship status it didn't end up well.

"Sakura, are you coming in?!" Aoi called, already at the other end of the pool. "The water is amazing!"

Snapping out of her train of thought, Sakura carefully entered the pool, submerging herself into the cool water. She couldn't help but let out a relax sigh as the water seemed to work its magic on her, making her feel weightless and easing the tension out of her body, even the places she didn't know that felt tensed. 

Remembering to pace herself she finally started to do laps in the lane next too Aoi. Whenever they crossed paths while swimming Aoi always smiled and say 'hey' to her, even slowing down so there could chat seeing as Sakura couldn't push herself to keep up with her.

They spent hours swimming, the closest time they came to stopping was too get into the pool for the older children to mess around with the pool toys that Aoi found cute, such as an inflatable dolphin and a few colourful pool noodle before going back to swimming a few more laps in the other pool they were originally in.

By the end of it their toes and fingers were pruned from the pool water. Both reeked of chlorine and felt pleasantly refreshed after a good workout, not to mention the water combined with the physical aspect of swimming did wonders on Sakura's back!

"That felt great!" Aoi mused as they left the building with their belongings. 

"Indeed, it's been far too long since I've been swimming." Sakura agreed. 

"Would gotta do this again, especially on a rainy day. I love having the pool to myself." she added. 

"Most definitely, I would be more than happy to accompany you." Sakura smiled. She would accept any reason to spend time with Aoi.

"You hungry?" Aoi asked. "Normally I grab something to nibble on the way home." she explained. "My treat." 

If it meant she could spend more time with Aoi, then sure. 

"I would be more than happy to." she responded. She could go for something to eat after all that swimming and naturally Sakura was hungrier with the whole eating for two thing. 

"That's great, there's this fantastic bakery I know with the best-"

"Let me guess, donuts?"

"Yup!"

....

"Oh will you stop looking at the bran muffins." Aoi complained in as they looked at the display case of baked goods. 

"I really shouldn't be eating something so unhealthy..." she replied with a subtle frown. She promised to give Kiyotaka and Mondo a healthy baby, and a bunch of sweets weren't going to help with her promise.

"Oh hush, in your condition you have an excuse to eat whatever you want. And one little treat isn't going to kill you." Aoi urged.

Admittedly the chocolate covered strawberries did look really good right now. And the strawberries definitely made it more healthier than a slice of cake or a brownie. 

"Have you made up your mind?" the cashier ask.

"I'll take two honey crullers." Aoi ordered and looked at Sakura. "What about you?"

"The chocolate covered strawberries please."

"How many?"

"Three... No wait... Four." They really did look good.

Aoi paid for the sweets before the woman behind the counter got their order into plastic boxes and handed it over to them.

The two sat themselves at a table and eagerly dug into their sweets. Two strawberries and a half strawberries in and Kiyotaka and Mondo's child started to stir from the little sugar rush. What she assumed was a little foot beginning to twitch. A shame neither of the baby's fathers were here to feel it. They both always got excited whenever it came to the baby being active, especially Taka. It was times like those it affirmed her decision to be a surrogate for them. They were perfect for each other.

....

It's been a month since he first read the name Daiya Oowada but it wasn't the last. Kiyotaka spent as much time as he could looking up the name, which surprisingly wasn't too difficult at all. There was quite a bit about the Crazy Diamonds, which was something Mondo had been honest about, however he had completely left out the part that he was not always originally the leader of said gang. In fact that was where Daiya came in. He was the first leader of the gang and passed it down to Mondo, only natural seeing as all the information he gather confirmed that Daiya was indeed his older brother.

Upon digging deeper, not only did Mondo have a brother, but his husband's mother was still alive. Yet another lie from his husband. Mondo had stated that not only was he an only child, but his parents were deceased like his. Mondo's brother on the other hand was a complicated case... Although alive, he was not well... in a sense. Left comatose from an accident for years. 

Kiyotaka certainly answered the 'who' part of his question about Daiya Oowada. Now all he had to pinpoint was the 'why' part. Why had his husband kept this from him? Kiyotaka had told him about his grandfather, why couldn't Mondo do the same? 

Tonight he was going to find out.

Kiyotaka kneaded an egg into a bowl of ground beef. Tonight was meatloaf night. He glanced over at Mondo as he stood next to him, rhythmically chopping up onions and doing his hardest not to tear up from the sensation of the onion.

"Did you preheat the oven?" Kiyotaka asked. 

"Let me check." Mondo looked over his shoulders to inspect the stove. "Yeah, I did." he replied and returned to chopping onions, losing the battle with his watery eyes.

"We might have a pair of swimming goggles if you think that might help." he suggested. He would had offered to get them himself, but his hands were currently contaminated with raw meat. 

"No way! That would look weird as hell!" Mondo dismissed as he kept chopping away. "Plus I'm nearly done."

Every night he enjoyed cooking supper alongside his husband. He had an old boyfriend who once told him food was always better if it was made with love. Tonight was proving to be the first time he didn't enjoy cooking with his husband.

Soon the meatloaf was in the oven with a pot of potatoes boiling on the stovetop. Mondo had sat himself down on the couch, idly flipping through one of those motorcycle magazines he tended to buy on impulse. 

No time like the present as the old saying goes.

"Mondo," Kiyotaka began. "You aren't... keeping anything from me, are you?" he wanted to give his husband a chance to tell him. The last thing Kiyotaka wanted to do was have to call him out.

"Sheesh, what's with the third degree all of a sudden?" Mondo asked, not even looking up from his magazine as he lazily flipped through the pages. 

Okay, he gave Mondo a chance and nothing. That was just his husband's fault in the end. He didn't dare sit next to Mondo, Kiyotaka had a gut feeling Mondo would probably be standing up soon anyway. He took a deep breath before he asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about Daiya?"

Mondo visibly flinched from hearing that question. "Who?! Never heard of him!"

"Daiya, Daiya Oowada." he repeated standing up straighter than usual. 

"Repeating the name ain't gonna make me know him!" Mondo held the magazine closer to his face in an attempt to hide his expression. "I don't know him!"

Kiyotaka frowned, even if he haven't done his research prior to this confrontation he would had saw through his lie. His husband always lost control of his volume when he was nervous. 

"Mondo, I seen the picture of him in your boxes in the basement." he stated. 

"You went through my shit?!" Instantly Mondo threw the magazine aside. "What the fuck man?!"

"It wasn't like I was intentionally looking through your things!" Kiyotaka defended. "I was simply looking for my belongings that I had when I was an infant! It was the one box I neglected to label! It only made sense to open the boxes in the basement! You never label your boxes!"

"You didn't think to ask me first?!" he snarled.

"You were asleep! And you never told me some of those boxes were private!" Kiyotaka defended.

"Well they were! I shouldn't have to tell you! It's called common sense you don't go snooping through people's shit!" Mondo yelled.

"I wasn't intentionally snooping!" he yelled back. "And don't try to change the subject, I asked you a question. Why did you lie about your brother and mother?"

"How the shit do you know about my mom?!" he demanded.

"I did some research online and-"

"Research?!" he repeated. Absolutely appalled at the word. "I'm not a damn school project!"

"You're avoiding the question again!" Kiyotaka hissed, watching Mondo curl his hands into fists. "You can't avoid this!"

"Oh really?!" Mondo challenged. "Just watch me!"

And before Kiyotaka could even process anything, Mondo stormed out of the house, making sure to slam the door on his way out. Leaving Kiyotaka in silence as the roar of his motorcycle faded out.


	10. Chapter 10

Kiyotaka didn't sleep well that night. It was a constant pattern of toss, turn, toss, turn, get a glass of water, toss, turn, get more water, toss, turn, toss, turn, toss, turn, get up and use the bathroom, toss, turn. Until he finally managed to fall asleep at the ungodly hour of four in the morning and wake up far pass the originally time he normally rose at.

As much as being behind his little routine got his goat, the main thing that was getting to Kiyotaka was the lack of his husband. He had hoped that Mondo would had returned sometime during the night, but as he rushed out of the bedroom in hopes of seeing Mondo his heart sank. He wasn't there... Not on the couch watching tv, or in the kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee, not even in the garage working on a project. Mondo wasn't home, he had left and spent the night elsewhere.

Kiyotaka dragged his feet back into the kitchen and went about making a cup of coffee. Normally he preferred tea, but he desperately needed the caffeine right now. He rubbed his temples as he recalled the events from the night before. He pushed Mondo too far and in returned Mondo pushed him away. How could he be so foolish? Would he want someone prying into his life? No! Of course not! But the thing was that Mondo's life was his life too, they we're married after all. Kiyotaka wanted all those walls to come down, but at what cost? 

The answer? His husband's trust. 

He sighed heavily and sipped his mug of coffee. Kiyotaka rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced at some of the ultrasound photos that were stuck to the fridge with colourful little fridge magnets. Kiyotaka swallowed thickly, feeling his stomach do a painful series of flips. 

Did he just single handedly ruined his unborn child's life? Would their child be in the centre of custody battles before they were even born?! 

No, couples fought all the time and got back together. But then again some didn't... No! He was just getting himself more and more worked up about it. 

Unable to finish his coffee without feeling nauseous he set it aside to reheat for later. In the meantime he believed a shower was in order to help him feel less like a mess. 

All he could hope for was that his husband would return today.

....

Mondo felt like shit.

"Man, you look awful."

And looked like shit too. No surprise given he crashed on Leon's couch without washing off his eyeliner or brushing out his pompadour before he retired. 

"Gee, thanks..." Mondo grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, only making himself look like a racoon as he smeared his eyeliner. Though he couldn't had cared less at the moment. "Also thanks for letting me crash on your couch for the night..."

"Didn't really had a choice, you more or less forced your way in my apartment." Leon pointed out with a scoff. "I could had been naked in the living room or something."

"Don't wear pants on my account." he joked.

"Whatever man. Mind taking a shower? I just can't take you seriously when you look like that." Leon said, gesturing to Mondo's current bird's nest of a hair and raccoon eyes. 

"Well no shit! You really think I was gonna walk around like this?!" he huffed and got up to shower.

Hopefully Leon wouldn't mind that he had to use half a bottle of conditioner to detangle his hair. He couldn't be bothered to do his hair in its usual pompadour. First of all he wasn't in the mood to do so. Secondly, was Leon didn't have any of the hair products Mondo use to style his hair. He wasn't going to settle on a half assed pompadour.

A few minutes later Mondo stepped out of the shower, using a towel to dry off before changing back into the clothes he wore yesterday. Hair soaking wet since he couldn't find Leon's hair dryer. Whatever, he didn't mind towel drying. Just meant he would have to deal with damp hair for awhile.

"Got anything for breakfast?" Mondo asked.

"Hope you like cereal, it's the only thing I know how to make." Leon replied, going about pouring him and Mondo a bowl.

It was far from the big breakfasts that him and Kiyotaka prepared, but during his life he was taught not to be picky and that lesson stuck with him. 

Kiyotaka...

He fucked up last night. No, that was an understatement. He REALLY fucked up. What the hell was wrong with him?! In his defence the majority of what happened was Kiyotaka's fault. Who the fucked researched their partner like some kind of zoo animal or one of those historians they had to do a project on back at Hope's Peak?!

Nah... Thinking like that was selfish of him. He had to remember this was Kiyotaka Ishimaru after all. Of course he would look shit up about this before bringing it up with him. Mondo had hoped he wouldn't have to reveal the truth to Kiyotaka, that his lie would just be something he could take to the grave. But apparently not! Ugh, he knew he should had hid that photo better! Or better yet throw it out.

Why did Kiyotaka have to find it now?! Of all the times it had to be when they had a baby on the way! Karma must really have it out for him. 

He absentmindedly chewed a spoonful of soggy cornflakes. He knew he was gonna have too go home and face the music, but he didn't want to do that yet. At least not until later today... Mondo glanced at Leon, who was busy browsing social media sites on his phone.

"So...." Mondo began through his mouthful. "Are you... doing anything today?"

"Nah, I was mostly planning on just watching a bunch of movies at home." Leon replied, not even bothering to look up from his phone. 

"Let's fucking do something!" Mondo blurted out all too loudly and suddenly. He just wanted a few hours of not feeling like shit before he had to deal with the elephant in the room.

"Uhh... like what?" Leon asked.

"I don't know..." he tried racking his brain for ideas. Go out to eat? Nah, he wasn't all that hungry. Bar? No, he needed a clear mind if he was going to go back home eventually today. "What about the park?"

"Alright, I could use some fresh air." Leon agreed with a shrug. "Though I want an explanation on why you nearly broke the lock on my door to get in here."

"Old habits die hard." he joked.

"I'm serious, you almost gave me a fucking heart attack you jackass." Leon frown. 

Mondo sighed, setting his spoon down. "It's a long story."

"Then summarize it." he persisted.

"Fucking fine..." Mondo let out a defeated sigh. "Taka found something he wasn't supposed to see... EVER."

"Your old grindr profile?" Leon joked.

"Shut up." Mondo shot him a quick glare. "And long story short he started asking questions and being the idiot I am, I freaked and left." he let out a groan. "I really fucked up..."

"What exactly did Kiyotaka find?" he inquired. 

"Something I tried to keep hidden." Mondo grumbled. "So are we going to the damn park or not?"

"Alright, alright. Just let me get changed." he replied, taking a brief moment to lazily stretch. 

....

Maybe the park wasn't the best idea, there was little for two grown men too do. Sure it was free but it felt so damn weird. At least Mondo could stretch his legs and get some fresh air. Plus with Leon with him he didn't look like a complete social outcast like usual. Plus there was some really fucking cute dogs at the park today! Why didn't he and Taka have a dog yet? They should get a dog. Maybe after their kid was born he could not so subtly hint about getting a dog. 

"Hey look, theirs bumper boats at the lake." Leon pointed out.

"Bumper boats?"

"You know, like bumper cars but on the water. Always was my favourite thing to do at amusements parks when I was a kid." he explained. "Wanna ride one? I'm bored as fuck watching you stare at dogs."

"Heh, why not?" Mondo agreed with a shrug. Going out on a lake sounded like a good way to kill time. 

After paying a cheap fee and being forced into bright orange life jackets they got settled into one of the round little boats. The controls were just two little joystick, like the ones at the arcade he used to screw around at as a kid. Then get banned from the joint because he was using fake coins. 

He grabbed one of the controllers and gave it a nudge forward, making the boat turn sharply right but not move further. Okay, so that was to make it turn. So the second one must make it go farther, seemed to make sense. Mondo gave the other stick a push, though to no avail on going forward. 

"The fuck kind of bullshit is this?" Mondo frowned.

"You're kidding me right?" Leon scoffed. "You, a biker, can't figure out how to operate a contraption for ten year olds?" 

"I ride motorcycles, not goddamn bumper boats." he huffed, making another attempt at working the controls, only making the boat spin in circles. "And this is different than a motorcycle!"

"I know they say gay people can't drive, but this is ridiculous." Leon snorted.

"If you're so smart why don't you try then?!" he threw his hands up in the air in defeat. 

"Fine! Seriously, preteens can drive this thing." Leon rolled his eyes and took ahold of the joysticks. Though he had no better luck than Mondo had.

"Thought you rode one of these before?"

"Yeah, when I was like ten!" he argued, frantically turning the sticks making the boat rotate and occasionally change direction, but not actually go further.

"Ummm... Would you two want a little push?" the woman running the bumper boats asked.

"Er... yeah..." Leon nodded and stopped moving the controls. 

The woman gave the boat a strong push with her foot, making the boat go a few inches away from the dock. 

Roughly twenty minutes of the two of them taking turns to frantically try to actually figure out how to drive the damn thing, they were finally in the middle of the lake like everyone else.

"This is just embarrassing." Leon groaned. "We're both grown men and can hardly operate this thing."

"It was your idea to do this in the first place." Mondo huffed.

"It was your idea to come here!" he argued.

Before Mondo could reply with any sort of snarky remark towards Leon, a sound of a whistle let it be known their time on the boats were up.

"Uhhh... How do we get back?" Leon asked.

"Fuck..." Mondo swore. They really didn't think this through. Getting this far in the boat was difficult enough, how the hell were they gonna get back?! "Maybe if we dick around with the controls enough we're figure it out."

"That's literally what we been doing this whole time."

"You got a better idea?!"

"....No."

"Then fucking can it!"

Once again Mondo grabbed the controllers and turned them in various directions, only to once again make no progress on properly steering the boat in the direction they needed to go.

"Ummm... Excuse me?" a soft voice asked from behind them. In a bumper boat like them, sat two preteens girls. "Do you two need some help getting back?"

"Uhh.... Yeah, it looks like it." Mondo muttered. Honestly how could children drive these damn boats so easily?!

....

To make a long story short, the day ended with a rather embarrassing rescue. But in the end Mondo was grateful to be distracted for a bit, no matter what the distraction was. Once he parted ways with Leon and what was left of his dignity, he found himself now dealing with what originally drove him away from his home.

Mondo knew he couldn't stay away forever. His and Kiyotaka's kid deserved better than that. He wasn't some punk teen anymore, he had a husband, a house, a job, and soon a baby. He had to be fucking responsible! 

"And here you go!" the florist mused and handed Mondo a small bouquet of purple flowers. "Purple hyacinths, the perfect way to say 'I'm sorry'!"

"Thanks." Mondo replied and dug through his pockets.

Unfortunately he had forgotten his wallet at home, but luckily he had just enough change to stop by the local flower shop and pick up something. He was never too good at apologies, especially when he came to someone he cared about. He handed the florist a handful of pocket change which she counted out before nodding.

"Flowers can solve everything." she mused with one of the most fake smiles Mondo ever saw. This woman got paid to say shit like that. "I'm sure your wife will love them!"

"Yeah, whatever." Mondo couldn't help but scoff at the 'wife' bit as he wasted no time getting out of the flower shop. 

...

Well, he was back home... With Taka. He let out a sigh and reached for the door knob, rather surprise Kiyotaka didn't change the locks knowing how Mondo's luck was lately. Nah, that was just ridiculous. His husband wasn't THAT dramatic-

"YOU CAME BACK!"

Mondo didn't even take three steps in side the house and Kiyotaka quickly scrambled to him, instantly hugging him so tight it squeezed the air out of him. Mondo dropped the flowers and looked at Kiyotaka, who had his face buried in his shirt. Shit, his husband seemed to be more of a mess about this than him! 

"O-of course I did!" Mondo sputtered. "Did you really think I was just gonna get up and leave?! Sheesh, give me some credit!"

"I'm sorry!" Kiyotaka wailed. "I really, really, REALLY, screwed up! I just didn't know what to do!"

"Dude, please.... you're just embarrassing yourself." 

"I don't care! I invaded your privacy!" 

Well... He was kinda right about that.

"Taka, let's just agree we both really fucked up yesterday!" Mondo firmly yet gingerly cupped Kiyotaka's face. "Look man, can we just forget it happened?!"

"I...."

"Or at least deal with it some other time?" Mondo asked hopefully. Somehow managing to keep his volume under control. "Look, I just want to spend the night at my own house with my husband and not have either of us feel like a piece of shit."

Kiyotaka gulped and nodded slowly. "Alright... I can agree to that."

For now at least, Mondo guessed. Not a one hundred percent guarantee that this wouldn't come up again, but he would take it over nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, the part with the bumper boats is based on a true story. Because I'm gay and can't drive!


	11. Chapter 11

Mondo didn't expect everything to magically go back to the happy go lucky way it was before. But he didn't plan for Kiyotaka to be so damn distant afterwards! Telling Mondo he would have to have dinner by his lonesome because he conveniently decided to have dinner with his coworkers after work, constantly running errands, even sleeping on the couch because 'he fell asleep watching a documentary'. All fucking bullshit! They were all just excuses to avoid him! Did Kiyotaka really think Mondo was that stupid to not notice this?! He may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he could see straight through Taka's act!

This was driving him insane, it felt like he was single. And the empty feeling in the house made him want to scream just to fill it with something. What the hell was he suppose to do?! He wasn't good at this kind of crap! If he tried talking about it he was just gonna fuck up and yell! 

"The hyacinths you got have been sitting dead in the vase for ages. It's time to throw them away." Kiyotaka informed in a monotone sounding tone.

"Uhh... yeah. I'll get around to that." Mondo replied. He should had known the florist assuming he was straight was a bad sign when he got those flowers.

He took a moment to glance at the rearview mirror. In the reflection showed Sakura, officially at the six month mark in the backseat. He could barely fathom how awkward this must for her even if Sakura didn't say it. Whenever they drove for one of her appointments the car was usually filled with the three of them chatting up a storm, whether it was about the baby or what she and Aoi did at their latest outing. But instead the three of them just sat in awkward silence.

What was he supposed to do?! They couldn't keep this up forever! It was driving him fucking insane! If they couldn't get their shit together over this then how the hell were they supposed to raise a kid?! 

....

The tension between him and Taka was eating Mondo alive. Normally whenever they sat in the doctor's office to accompany Sakura like they always did with every appointment, they were typically excited and eager to see their child when it came to the ultrasound portion of the appointment. Though now it felt just so fucking awkward! He glanced at Kiyotaka, who luckily didn't take notice since he had his eyes focusing on the screen. He seemed far less tense as he watched the doctor point out various features on the ultrasound screen, such as the nose, limbs, and head. 

"So uhh..." Mondo began and shifted in his seat. "You can tell if they're a boy or a girl... right?"

This instantly caught Kiyotaka's attention as his sight parted ways with the screen towards Mondo, eyes widen with surprise. 

"I thought you wanted it to be a surprise?!" Kiyotaka remarked loudly.

On one hand Mondo did, but on the other he was slightly curious himself. Plus if it got Kiyotaka talking to him normally or at least gave them something positive to talk about, then he was all for it.

"So?! I'm allowed to change my mind!" ugh, he was starting to sound desperate! Because he fucking was! 

"If you two are interested in knowing what you're having, the baby is in just the perfect position to do so." the doctor mused. "Definitely not camera shy, no shame at all!" he laughed. Mondo couldn't help but snicker from that comment. 

"Well in that case, please go on ahead!" to finally see Taka as his usual loud self was a breath of fresh air to Mondo. 

"Ah, just let me double check." the doctor smiled and stared at the screen for a few seconds. "Just as I thought." he turned his head back at them. "It's a girl." he declared.

Mondo's lips curled into a smile upon hearing those words. A girl... It was a girl. He was going to have a daughter! Him and Kiyotaka were going to have a daughter! It took every ounce of his strength to tear his eyes away from the screen to look at Kiyotaka and Sakura. Sakura shot him a smile, silently congratulating him. His husband had one of the biggest smiles he ever seen him with plastered onto his face, his eyes brimming with tears of joy.

Things we're gonna work out, they just had to. He was gonna make damn sure of that! It was his responsibility as a father! A man's promise to his daughter! Him and Taka were gonna get their shit together for her! One way or another.

....

Sakura's fingers hovered over Aoi's number that she kept on her cellphone. She could do this... Right? Why was she getting so worked up about it? They known each other for quite a few months, their was no denying that there was definitely sparks between them. So why was she hesitating?

With a sigh Sakura set her phone down and sat down in her couch. Letting out a sigh of relief to be off her feet. Maybe it was just how hormonal she was that was making her so doubtful? No, though the pregnancy wasn't helping her situation either. She only ever had ONE girlfriend in her entire life and dating was still so odd to her.

Aoi was truly a remarkable woman. Kind, friendly, but not a pushover, outgoing, all traits that Sakura liked. But did Aoi like the traits she had? Aoi had called her brave before, but she couldn't even muster up the courage to ask her on a proper date. Was Aoi even into women?! She recalled that ridiculous term Hiro used. What was it again? Oh yeah, pan-scan. Apparently it was off the charts according to him.

She picked up her phone again and once again her finger hovered over Aoi's number. Taking a deep breath she tapped the number with her fingertip. 

After waiting for a few seconds there was an answer.

"Sakura! It's great to hear from you again!" Aoi greeted, as upbeat as usual. "How have you been lately?"

Come on, she could do this. What could possibly go wrong?

"I have been well, thank you for asking." Sakura replied. "Actually I have something to ask of you." 

"Go ahead."

"I was wondering if you are interested in going out with me?" 

There, she said it.

"Oh sure! I would love to go out again! Where too?" 

Well... It wasn't a rejection, but it wasn't exactly the answer Sakura was hoping for. 

"Aoi... I meant something less on the platonic side." she explained. "Like a date?" 

There was a long pause, every second that passes just made her feel more and more uncomfortable. Should she had waited until after Mondo and Kiyotaka's daughter arrived? Was asking Aoi out while she was pregnant just too weird for her? 

"Uhhh... I kinda thought we already were." 

Sakura blinked in confusion at Aoi's words. Already were? What could Aoi possibly be referring too? 

"I don't understand..." Sakura confessed.

"I thought we already were dating..." Aoi spoke. "Like one of those couples who were unofficially dating." she paused. "Isn't that a thing?"

"I... I don't think that's how it works?" now Aoi was probably just as confused as Sakura was.

"It's not?!" she gasped in horror. "I-I changed my status online and everything! Oh god, this is embarrassing!" 

"You... Thought we were already dating?" Sakura questioned.

"Y-yeah... I mean we got along together really well so I just assumed..." she groaned. "I'm such an idiot when it comes to dating! I'm sooooo sorry!" 

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle. Not only was the situation something that seemed like it belonged in a sitcom, but it definitely took care of the nervous edge of asking her out. Aoi fancied her, Aoi Asahina felt an attraction to her, just as she did.

"It's not funny!" Aoi cried into the phone. 

"My apologies, it's just knowing this sooner definitely would had lessen my worry of asking you out." Sakura explained. "Exactly when did you think we were dating?"

"Uhh... two months ago." Aoi responded. "Ugh! This is so awkward! I'm so sorry!" 

"You have no reason to apologize." she reassured. "I am just as bad myself when it comes to dating." Sakura reassured. "So.... Would be willing to accept my offer about a date?"

"Ahh.... actually." Sakura felt her heart sink. 

"Is something wrong?"

I... I wanted to be the one who asked you out." oh what a relief. "Not the other way around."

"Then go ahead."

"Excuse me?"

"You wanted to be the one to ask me out, correct?" Sakura explained. "Then please, go ahead." 

"Oh... Oh right!" Aoi cleared her throat. "Sakura Oogami, will you go out with me? Oh wait- was that too formal sounding? It sounded more like a business deal!"

Sakura smiled, it was hard NOT to smile when she was with Aoi. "Yes, my answer is yes. I'll go out with you."

"Oh thank god, I was terrified I would had screwed this up somehow." Aoi laughed nervously. "More then I already did at least. So, for our first official date... Are you free this Saturday?" 

"Yes, I am." Sakura replied.

"Perfect! I have the best date idea in mind! Let's meet up at the park, is noon good for you?"

"I can do noon.

"Excellent, I can't wait!"

....

Sadly the joyous news that they were having a daughter didn't seem to last long. Once again Kiyotaka returned to being distant towards Mondo. But that all the more filled him with determination to fix this shit by tonight.

"I'm going to the grocery store." Kiyotaka declared, going about lacing up his boots. 

"At this goddamn hour?" Mondo inquired. Did Taka really think he was that dumb? This was just another tactic to avoid him. 

"We need dish soap." he replied all too quickly.

"Pretty sure it won't be the end of the world if you get it in the morning." Mondo commented and leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed.

"I would prefer to get it out of the way now." this just made Mondo roll his eyes.

"Taka, I know I never had the best grades in school. But do you really think I'm gonna believe that shit?" he frowned. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." his husband dismissed.

"Dude, you been so damn distant!" Mondo huffed. "Like come on! Are you still pissed at me?! I came back home after freaking out! We apologized! Everything should be back to normal!"

"It's not that easy." Kiyotaka tensed. 

"How long do you plan on avoiding me?!" he demanded.

"When it stops hurting!" he snapped.

"Hurting? The fuck you going on about?!" Mondo demanded.

"Never mind, forget I said anything!" 

"What?! Hell no, tell me!" Mondo gritted his teeth. "Damn it, come on! Think of our daughter! You really want her coming home to this shit storm?!"

There was a long and uncomfortable pause, for a split second Mondo had a sinking feeling he would get a taste of his own medicine and have Taka storm out on him. But instead his husband let out a defeat sigh.

"I hate it when you're right..." he looked down at the floor then to Mondo. "Even if you must use such profanity to prove your point."

"Meh, swearing shows I mean business." he joked lightly. "But seriously, what the hell is up with you lately?"

"Could we go into the living room? I need to sit down for this..." he requested, not even waiting for Mondo to reply to that as he made his way to the living room couch. Leaving Mondo little choice but to fallow and plop himself down next to him. "I... I couldn't help but think of my father when I saw that photo of you and your brother..." he began. 

Course, he should had known something like this would come up sometime. Takaaki Ishimaru, his husband's father as well as Mondo's father in-law. Despite Mondo's distaste for cops, Takaaki was an alright guy. Bit of a hardass but he supposed it was some genetic thing with Kiyotaka's side of the family. Poor fucker died in the line of duty when he interrupted a drug deal. And to add to that shit storm it was just a few weeks after Kiyotaka popped the question.

"I just couldn't help but think... My dad won't ever get to see her." he sniffled. "She won't ever get to be held in my father's arms, she won't ever meet her grandfather..." Kiyotaka wiped at his watery eyes. "I used to think that the only family our child would have would just the two of us and possibly siblings." Mondo felt his chest tighten, he had a feeling he knew where this was going. "A small family tree... But once I started poking around, and once again I'm extremely sorry about the invasion of your privacy. She actually has family outside of us! And you kept that hidden! I think it's selfish of you. Then I remember it's probably personal for you and I feel guilty about thinking that of you!"

"Don't feel guilty...." he didn't really know what else to say. This whole family thing was eating at Taka, on top of that was his husband said was true. He let Kiyotaka believe that their daughter had no true family besides the two of them. "Look man... Just give it time..." Mondo sighed. "It will sort itself out..."

"Mondo, this isn't something I can easily let go of." Kiyotaka countered. "What if something happens to us? What's going to happen to her?"

"Nothing's gonna happen!" Mondo argued.

"And if it does?!"

"We got friends!"

"Do you really want someone like Byakuya or Hiro raising her?!"

"Fuck man..." Mondo groaned. "Cut me some slack!" he yelled, immediately regretting it and sunk further back into his seat. "Look... Just.... Just give me some damn time. This is a lot to fucking take in...."

"I..." Kiyotaka sighed. "I understand..." he hanged his head. Goddamn it! He hated seeing Kiyotaka like this!

"I can't promise anything..." he trailed off. "But for now can we just focus on our kid for now? She's what's important."

"You're right... let's just focus on her." it was then he rested his head on Mondo's shoulder.

This was the first physical contact he had with Taka in a month, so he sure as hell was gonna soak it up. Without a second thought he put an arm around Kiyotaka.


	12. Chapter 12

Kiyotaka furrowed his brows as he looked over the collection of strips of paint colours he had collected from Mondo's favourite hardware store. They had yet to paint the nursery and with three months until their daughter arrived he refused to put it off any longer. All he had to do was pick out the perfect colour! Which was easier said than done. 

"What about yellow?" Mondo suggested, holding up a strip of paper that showed various shades of yellow.

"No. It's too bright." Kiyotaka dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"We could do a darker shade of yellow?" he shrugged.

"The darker shades don't really strike me as something that would appeal to an infant." Kiyotaka inspected the shades of pink that were listed. "Pink is typically what people do when they have a daughter."

"Everyone has a pink nursery when they got a girl. I want to do something different." Mondo replied. "Plus it's just an eyesore to look at after awhile."

At this rate they were never going to get those walls painted! But Kiyotaka wanted the perfect nursery to bring their little girl home too. And that included the perfect wall colour. Now if only they could find that colour.

"Okay, what if we went blue? Comes in a lot of shades, not too traditional for girls, and not too wild." Kiyotaka listed off.

"Taka, the tile in our bathroom is blue. I don't want our daughter's nursery to be the same colour of the very place I go to take a shit." Mondo frowned. "How about red?"

"Seems too intense for someone who's depending on us for everything." Kiyotaka shook his head. Mentally crossing off the colours pink, yellow, blue, and red off his list of ideas. "Think orange would be suitable? Like a nice sunrise orange."

"Mmmm... I dunno man, just not feeling it." Mondo shrugged, browsing the selection of orange colours. 

Kiyotaka let out a loud sigh and sunk into the couch. Picking a paint colour shouldn't be such a time consuming process. It was so easy when they started to renovated their house, both were more about the functionality of their home rather than the appearance.

"We should had decided on a colour ages ago..." he groaned. "We're behind schedule, at this rate she'll come home to an unfinished nursery!" they didn't even have the crib yet because Mondo was taking his sweet time building it!

"Dude, we got like three whole months. That's plenty of time." Mondo reassured. 

"That's assuming she doesn't come early." Kiyotaka tensed up immediately at the thought. "Sakura could go into premature labor, or something happens and-" 

Mondo clamped a hand over his mouth, instantly 'shutting him up' as his husband would crudely put it.

"Taka, take a goddamn chill pill." Mondo said firmly. "You're getting yourself worked up over nothing." he removed his hand.

"It could happen!" he argued. Honestly it wasn't uncommon for him to dwell on something going wrong. "I done my research! The cord could get wrapped around the neck! Or she's breeched! Even-"

Mondo cupped his face, looking directly into his eyes. "Taka, you really gotta stop looking up what could go wrong. Your getting yourself all paranoid and shit, which is gonna make me freak out as well if you get me thinking about it!"

"R-right, my apologies! Getting all worried isn't going to help! We must remain calm and collective for any situation that comes!" saying that out loud really did help calm his nerves. "Now let us focus on the current task of selecting a paint colour!"

Mondo grinned. "That's better, now...." he grabbed a strip of the colour samples. "What about green?"

"Why green?" Kiyotaka repeated with furrowed brows.

"Nothing murky or bright green, more like... I dunno, the colour of Tinkerbell's dress." Mondo shrugged.

"Tinkerbell?" he repeated with a confused raise of his eyebrows. What on earth was Tinkerbell?

"You know, from that Disney movie. Peter Pan, was one of my favourites when I was a kid... before I learned how to sneak into horror movies at the theatre!" he laughed loudly. 

"Mondo, I have no idea what your talking about." his lips formed a straight line.

"It's a kids movie so you probably don't remember it so much now-" 

"Mondo, I never watched those as a child." Kiyotaka informed. "I never watched movies unless it was a documentary in school. Even if I wasn't so focused on my studies, I wouldn't be able to afford to watch them."

"Shit man, really?" Mondo asked. "Movies are supposed to be the best thing about being a kid." he paused for a brief moment. "I suppose coming from you it ain't surprising..." 

"Ha... I suppose so. I didn't really get into movies in general until I made more friends and began to study them. I suppose this will just be another thing to study!" he declared. "Understanding the film material targeted at our daughter might help me gain a better understanding of her perspective!" 

"Only you can make watching children's movies sound like fucking homework." Mondo rolled his eyes with a chuckle. 

....

Sakura couldn't had been more grateful that she and Aoi preferred to dress more for comfort and practicality rather than for appearance. No way she could be both comfortable and fashionable since Taka and Mondo's daughter developed a habit of pressing either against her rib cage or on her bladder. Both not the ideal spots for comfort, but unfortunately they were becoming favourite spots for the baby to rest or kick.

"Ah, you made it!" Aoi greeted loudly as she got off the park bench and raced up to Sakura. "I got you something!" she said and thrusted a little box into Sakura's hands.

"You shouldn't had." Sakura smiled. Upon closer inspection of the magenta coloured box it had the logo of a local chocolate shop. 

"It's our first official date! I wanted too!" she grinned. "Plus I know you won't admit it but you totally been craving chocolate covered strawberries." 

"I wouldn't exactly call them cravings, just a newfound fondness for them that I didn't have for them before." she explained.

"Yeah, that's called cravings." she teased with a chuckle. 

"Regardless, thank you." Sakura said, carefully opening the box to reveal serval chocolate covered strawberries with coatings such as nuts and sprinkles. "These look delicious." 

"Don't they? It took every ounce of willpower to not eat them on the way over here." 

Sakura plucked up one of the dark chocolate strawberries that was rolled in chopped nuts. "Here, go ahead."

"I couldn't, their for you!" 

"Your practically drooling at the mouth." Sakura urged. "Please, I insist."

"Well... If you insist." Aoi replied as Sakura handed her the strawberry, which Aoi happily bit into. "Oh it's sooooo good." she mused, taking another bite and smearing sticky dark chocolate on her lower lip before she polished it off with a second bite, a little trickle of strawberry juice dripping down her chin. "You gotta try one too! It tastes amazing!" 

Sakura soon selected one of the strawberries that were coated in a shell of white chocolate. Like Aoi she took a large bite, though unlike her she savoured the sweetness of the white chocolate mixing with the juicy strawberry. Sakura would definitely be stopping there again at some point in the future. 

"It is as good as you say." Sakura agreed after finishing her's. As well as putting the lid back on the treats. She didn't want to eat them all at once, although it was tempting. "If I had known ahead of time that you got me something I would had gotten something for you as well."

"Don't sweat it! I was the one who asked you out after all, it's only fair I bring something!" Aoi grinned. "So, I already got everything ready for the perfect date." she took Sakura's hand and began to lead her forward. "You ever been paddle boating?"

"No, I can't say I had. I never got the chance to try such contraptions." she replied.

"You will now." Aoi grinned and lead her to the pond. It wasn't uncommon for them to rent out boats, in fact it was quite a regular thing. She once rented a canoe with Hiro... which then turned into swimming after he tipped it. "I rented a paddle boat for us!"

Paddle boating... At six months pregnant on her sore and swollen ankles? Though Aoi seemed so excited about it... Sakura could probably managed it for an hour or so for Aoi. 

"Being out on the water sounds delightful."

"Thanks, I figured since we both liked swimming something else involving the water would be just as good." she explained.

Only swimming eased her body rather than make it more sore. Though Sakura was craving a bit more activity. The extremely light workouts, swimming, and yoga just weren't giving her that same feeling her old workout routines gave her. Perhaps going out on a paddle boat would?

Sakura could only hope it would, after having to awkwardly squeeze herself into a life jacket, she carefully stepped into the dull yellow and white boat with Aoi. 

"Ready?" Aoi asked just as Sakura got settled in.

Sakura nodded and got her feet adjusted onto the peddles. With as much might as she could muster without straining herself, Sakura began to peddle along with Aoi. 

So far so good, not as bad as she thought it would be.

....

Turns out while they were good at paddling the boat, steering wasn't their strong point. 

"Oof!" Aoi cried out as they yet again bumped into the dock at the edge of the lake. 

It's been like this for the pass two hours. They would paddle but fail to make a turn, resulting in them crashing over and over again. If it wasn't for Aoi cracking jokes and them conversing it wouldn't had been as enjoyable as it was. 

"Well, that certainly was something." Aoi chuckled dryly as she helped Sakura out of the boat.

"It was nice to go out on the water." Sakura reassured.

"You don't have to sugar coat it, I know it was awful!" Aoi groaned. "I don't even know how to ride one of those things!"

"Neither did I." Sakura reminded. "It was pleasant enough to chat and be around you."

"Even if I crash the boat multiple times?" she asked, twiddling her thumbs. 

"It was both our faults, I was equally unprepared to operate one." she removed her life jacket along with Aoi. "And besides, I like being with you regardless of the circumstances."

That seemed to boost Aoi's self esteem, the woman's face broke into a gleeful smile. 

"Really?! Aw thanks! But still..." Aoi furrowed her brows and tapped her chin with a slender finger in thought. "We oughta do something together before the day ends..." suddenly her eyes lit up as she snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. "Let's get ice cream! You like ice cream right? Oh what am I saying? All pregnant people want ice cream."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the innocent generalization, though she couldn't deny ice cream would be good right about now.

"Yes, I do enjoy ice cream."

"Excellent! There's this stand not too far from here." Aoi grinned and took her by the hand again.

In the middle of sharing a banana split while on a park bench, Sakura just had to temporarily remove her shoes. Her feet still ached from their attempt at driving a paddle boat. 

"Sore feet?" Aoi inquired, spooning a mixture of vanilla ice cream, whip cream, and chocolate sauce into her mouth.

"My body has been less than kind to me throughout this ordeal." Sakura replied. "It's nothing I can't handle though." she reassured quickly, not wanting Aoi to make the connection paddle boating wasn't ideal for her. 

Aoi set her little plastic spoon aside. "Here." she brought Sakura's bare feet onto her lap. From there she delicately began to massage them. "How's that?"

"You really don't have t-"

"No, I want too go the extra mile for you." Aoi reassured without missing a beat. "And besides, after our misadventure out on the water you deserve this."

"Thank you." Sakura smiled, allowing her shoulders to relax. "I'm not quite used to all this special treatment. It's a bit of a foreign concept for me, though I do appreciate it."

"No need to thank me, mind giving me a spoonful of ice cream while I do this?" Aoi requested. 

Of course, Aoi had the worst sweet tooth she had ever saw. Sakura used her spoon and scooped up a hefty amount of ice cream with sticky chocolate sauce. She held out the spoonful for Aoi, who leaned forward and eagerly licked up the ice cream. 

"Thanks."

"Aoi?"

"Yeah?"

"You got some on your face." Sakura gestured to Aoi's lower lip, which had a smear of ice cream upon it.

Not even waiting for a response from Aoi, Sakura brought her thumb to her lip and gingerly rubbed at the creamy and sticky concoction until she was sure she had completely cleaned it off.

"There..." Sakura said, satisfied.

"Uh... thanks." Aoi said, unblinking.

Should she had let Aoi tidy herself up instead? 

"Sakura?" she asked, her bright blue eyes glancing away from her. "Could I er..." Aoi stopped massaging her soles and twiddled her thumbs. "Could I... kiss you?" her hands flew to her face, trying to cover up the bright blush that was consuming her face. "Only if you want too! Or is it rude to kiss on the first date?! I can't remember!"

Sakura removed her feet from Aoi's lap and scooter closer to her, carefully removing her date's hands from her face. 

"You don't have to ask."

....

"I'm back!"

Mondo's husband's voice rang throughout the house as it usually tended too. Mondo was currently on the couch with his nose in another motorcycle magazine looked up from it to see his husband, carrying both the cans of paint of the colour they finally settled on, (they ended up going with a light green in the end) as well as one of their reusable bags that looked filled to the brim. 

"I have return with not only paint, but more studying material as well!" Kiyotaka declared.

Mondo fought the urge to groan. As if Kiyotaka's obsession with books and videos about parenting wasn't bad enough. He was going have to build a bookshelf soon for all that crap, wasn't he? 

"If it's another damn video about childbirth you can count me out." Mondo declared as Kiyotaka placed the bag on the table. "I'm still traumatized from the last one." he grumbled and reluctantly reached into the bag, expecting to pull out a thick book or another documentary. "Lady And The Tramp?" he read aloud from the DVD's title. This was a kid's movie... 

Wait, so Kiyotaka was actually serious about studying kid movies? He dug through the bag a second time and pulled out another DVD.

"Beauty And The Beast." he read aloud once again before looking at Taka. "Is that bag full of nothing but movies?"

"Well there's the receipt of course." Kiyotaka replied. "I was out so it only seemed logical to pick these up." he explained. "A quick study online showed these were the ones were the most popular."

"You're actually serious about studying them?"

"Of course! This material is aimed at our daughter, therefore I want to understand it!" he declared.

His husband's studying trait knew no bounds. But curling up on the couch watching animated movies with his husband did sound really fucking nice. Like something from a corny romance movie or book. 

"Alright, now this kind of studying I can get down with!" Mondo mused, figuring to just go along with the 'studying' idea. "Did you get 101 Dalmatians? That one was the shit."

"I believe I did!" Kiyotaka mused and excitedly dug through the bag.

It wasn't long before they were on the couch, watching the first of many more animated movies for the night with a bowl of popcorn and the softest blanket they owned over them.


	13. Chapter 13

"You know..." Kiyotaka began as he added a generous amount of bubble bath into the porcelain white bathtub. "We still haven't agreed on a name for her yet."

Kiyotaka watched his husband blink in surprise and shift his gaze from the bath water, which was starting to foam up with lavender scented bubbles to him. 

"Shit, we really gotta decide on one soon." Mondo commented.

When they first got word they were finally going to be fathers it seem they had all the time in the world to select a name. But in the blink of an eye it seemed time fast forward, so now here they were with their daughter arriving in one month and she still remained nameless.

Kiyotaka nodded in agreement and turned off the water, dipping his hand into it to check if it was the ideal temperature. Nice and warm, but not hot enough to make them feel like they were being boiled alive like a stew, perfect!

From there he and Mondo rid themselves of their clothing and entered the bath tub. Kiyotaka comfortably rested his back against Mondo's chest, letting the warm water work it's wonders on his body.

"So, what exactly did you have in mind for a name?" Mondo asked.

"Well if I had my notebook on me I could give you my complete list in alphabetical order." Kiyotaka replied and idly poked at a pile of scented bubbles. "I believe I had roughly seventeen names written down. Shall I go fetch it?"

"Fuck no. First off, you just got comfortable." Mondo argued. "Secondly, seventeen names is a lot. Just list the ones off the top of your head, it will help narrow it down."

Kiyotaka tapped his chin. "Well... I believe I had Mayumi, Hikaru, Midori, Mariko, Akimi, Mieko-"

"What's with all the m names?" Mondo inquired.

"Oh, I didn't realize I had so many." Kiyotaka said, now just realizing that himself. "I guess the letter m must have the biggest selection among my list."

"Why the letter m though?" he asked, his lips forming a frown.

"Is there a problem with that?" Kiyotaka questioned.

"It's just MY name starts with m." Mondo explained. "I don't want to be one of THOSE families."

"One of those families?" Kiyotaka echoed back. What on earth was he referring too?

"You know, those families who's names all start with the same letter." he explained.

"Mondo, my name starts with k. It's impossible for that to happen, unless I legally change it." Kiyotaka stated. "Which isn't happening."

"I know, but it still could happen if we use too many m names." Mondo huffed, flicking at some of the fluffy bubbles.

"What if we refrain from using anymore names that start with m for her?" Kiyotaka suggested. They did agree to have at least more than one child so that way they could both be a biological fathers.

"Perfect!" Mondo mused loudly. "Because I really, REALLY fucking like Mariko and Midori!" 

"I came across them in that book about baby names I gotten." Kiyotaka grinned, glad that book came in handy. "But that's enough from me, what about you?"

"Uhh..." Mondo paused and rubbed his neck. "I was thinking Natsuki... I also got Suki and Aki." 

"Suki sounds rather sweet." Kiyotaka commented.

"No it's not, sounds fucking stupid compared to Mariko and Midori!" he responded. "Fuck those are good names... We gotta go with one of two."

"Well from what I read Mariko tends to be shorten for Mari for a nickname." Kiyotaka said. 

"Mari, that's a cute nickname." Mondo nodded.

"And Midori means green, which is rather fitting considering we painted the nursery green." Kiyotaka informed.

"Damn, that's just too much of a coincidence!" Mondo snorted with laughter. "Midori..." he said aloud. "Midori Ishimaru... Got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he grinned.

"Are you saying that's the name we should go with?!" Kiyotaka asked, his heart racing in excitement.

"Look, I don't get the whole fate and destiny shit! But honestly maybe it's a sign or something... I don't fucking know! But it just seems... meant to be." he shrugged. 

"Midori Ishimaru..." Kiyotaka said aloud, the name rolling off his tongue, his lips curled into a smile. "A perfect name for a perfect girl!"

"Taka, we just fucking named a person!" Mondo's volume rose with excitement. "I feel fucking powerful!"

"As do I!" Kiyotaka beamed. 

Everything they did that involved their daughter just made him more and more excited for her arrival. Kiyotaka couldn't wait to hold Midori in his arms at long last and welcome her into this world!

....

The bath hours ago did nothing to help Mondo sleep, not even the lavender bubbles could lull him into any kind of slumber. Here he was, dead of night, staring up at the ceiling... It wasn't just the fact they finally given their daughter a name. 

Mondo let out a sigh and rolled onto his side, watching Kiyotaka's chest rise and fall as he slept. He looked so peaceful... Which only made Mondo hate what he was going to do.

"Taka?" he lightly nudged at his husband's arm. "You awake?"

There was a small and muffled little groan before Kiyotaka's red eyes flickered open tiredly. 

"I am now..." he replied through a yawn. "Could this wait until morning?"

"Sorry..." he apologized sheepishly as he and his husband sat up. "But I really gotta fucking talk to you right now." 

Kiyotaka rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at him. "What is it?"

"It's about Daiya." Right away any signs of tiredness his husband showed was gone. "I feel like at this point... I owe you an explanation..."

"Mondo, I-"

"No, just let me talk... We been married for years. You been completely honest to me about the situation with your grandfather and all that shit." Mondo said with a sigh. "It's only fair I do the same." 

Kiyotaka nodded. "Very well then..."

"I don't even now where to fucking start..." Mondo scratched at a hangnail until it bled. 

"Perhaps at the beginning?" Kiyotaka suggested.

"I could try... You know how I told you I got into Hope's Peak in the middle of the school year?" his husband nodded. "Well originally I declined, I first thought I wouldn't be able to handle a fancy ass school like that. The reason for that was..." he trailed off, he just needed to stop for a second.

"You alright?" Taka asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, don't worry about me." he sighed again. "So... Daiya is my older brother, you know that much right?"

"Yes, also that he was originally the leader of the Crazy Diamonds. Ah, sorry again for poking my nose where it doesn't belong. I truly regret it, if I could go back in time and change what I did, I would."

"I know you would... But that's water under the bridge." Mondo reassured. "And this was bound to come out at some point in life. No matter how much I wanted to keep this hidden... Karma has it out for me." he pressed his back against the wooden bed frame. "He was gonna retire from the Crazy Diamonds, he was leaving it up to me to lead them." he explained. "The majority of the gang was unsure about this. They didn't have faith in me and typically only saw me as Daiya's younger brother."

"But your an ultimate, why wouldn't they?" Kiyotaka inquired. 

"I didn't get the title until I took over." Mondo informed. "So, at his retirement party I challenge him to a race, I figured if I won the gang would start giving me the respect I deserved." 

His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest at the rate it was beating. It's been so long since he talked about this, let alone think about this! He suppressed the memories for so long.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kiyotaka offered.

"Nah... I-I'm fine." he reassured, a complete lie given his tense posture and sweaty palms were a dead giveaway he wasn't fine. "So we're on our bikes, racing. I was so dead set on beating him I got stupid, really fucking stupid. I start driving into oncoming traffic, then this huge ass truck comes, and of course we're heading straight towards each other." Mondo could already see the truck's headlights in his head and hear the loud honk of the horn so vividly, like it was right there next to him. "Daiya rides up to me and fucking bumps me out of the way." he hangs his head, staring at his hands in his lap. "He gets hit of course... So I..." fuck, he never wanted to talk about this. "Next thing I know I'm holding his bloody body, he's all roughed up the impact... I didn't think he was gonna make it. Fucking comatose though, just lying there in a goddamn hospital bed." he let out a sigh. "You know what he said to me before he passed out?"

"What?"

"He wanted me to keep the gang together... I promised him that. Then shit hit the fan. I never told the gang what actually happened, otherwise they would had blamed me." Mondo explained. "I just lied and said he was being a dumbass and got reckless instead of the truth. But... I don't know, as time went by it felt like that was eating me alive. Everything about the gang made me feel both alive and dead inside. Then when time I just... I just fucking snapped. At first I turned down going to Hope's Peak, but before I knew it I packed everything I could carry in a duffle bag, jumped onto my bike and never looked back."

"So that's why you arrived so late in the semester." Kiyotaka said.

"Yeah, because I ran away like a fucking coward. Dorm life was hell, I was paranoid that I might run into a member of the gang, so I spent so much time stuck in that cramped shit hole..." as if Mondo didn't hate cramped spaces enough, but staying in that dorm was terrible. Just four walls and a bathroom... "Aside from classes and going to the cafeteria, I didn't get out much. Didn't take good care of myself the first few weeks either, sometimes I forgot to eat and I just didn't care anymore. I deserved it..."

"No, Mondo." Kiyotaka took ahold of his hands. "You don't deserve that!"

"Yes I fucking did, I was too chickenshit to do anything so I ran away from everything!" he ranted. "All because I felt like shit and couldn't tough it out!"

"You went through a traumatic event! It's perfectly normal to feel those things!" Kiyotaka reassured, lightly squeezing his hands. 

"Damn it, I couldn't keep my bro's promise! I didn't think of the rest of the gang and just fucking left them!" he tensed up, quickly regaining control over his volume. "Whatever..." he said before Taka could speak. "I didn't tell you this to start shit. I'm gonna try to contact an old member... I know it ain't calling up my mom or visiting my bro. But I just ain't ready for that yet..." 

"I... I understand and respect your decision." Kiyotaka nodded, letting go of his hands.

"I just can't deal with anything big right now. Midori's coming soon, I just want to focus on her." he explained.

Kiyotaka placed a hand on his shoulder again and gently kissed his jawline. "Can I ask you something? I know it's not the best time, but I doubt their will ever be a good time to ask this."

"Go ahead." he nodded. Mondo had no intention of acting like this on a regular occasion, so he wanted to clear the air as much as he could. Which included answering whatever was on Kiyotaka's mind.

"Is this why you were so insistent on taking my last name?" well, he certainly wasn't expecting that.

"What?!" he gawked.

"It's just that if you want to hide, changing your last name is typically something that would make it harder to pinpoint you." Kiyotaka pointed out.

"No! No, man! It's nothing like that!" Mondo reassured frantically. "I mean yeah it was kind of a bonus now that I think about it. But it's completely different! I'm proud to call myself Mondo Ishimaru, it's a name I can wear with pride since I know you're the most hard working man who has ever lived!" he cupped Kiyotaka's face. "And mainly because I love you more than anything in the world." he pressed his lips against Kiyotaka's for a brief moment. 

It was a moment of serenity for Mondo during this tornado of emotions. He wished they could had stayed like that forever, it was the only real bit of peace he was going to get throughout the night. But of course all good things had to come to an end. 

"Sorry for dumping all this on you..." Mondo apologized as soon as he pulled away. "Especially so goddamn late..."

"Don't apologize." Kiyotaka said, putting an arm around him. "Now get some rest, it's late and you need eight hours of sleep."

"Heh, whatever you say." he chuckled, before laying back down and shutting his eyes

....

Okay, he could do this... 

Mondo stared at his cellphone in his hands. Did Takemichi even have the same number anymore?! It's been fucking years! He groaned and tucked the phone back into his pocket. Why did this have to be so hard?! He really didn't plan this out... What the fuck was he even suppose to say?! 'Hey I'm sorry I left the gang, by the way I'm gay with a kid on the way!'

He slumped in the seat of his and Taka's car. He figured he should try to get used to driving it more, not like he could put a car seat on his bike. He rested his forehead on the steering wheel, he just needed an extra hour or so to collect his thoughts. But what to do? He had originally made the effort of driving so he could make the call to Takemichi without any distractions. But now he sure as hell needed one to calm his nerves. He took out his phone again and browsed his contact list. 

Sakura was the obvious choice, assuming she wasn't on another date with Aoi. Not wanting his volume to be a dead giveaway on how much he was freaking out, he decided to contact her through a text message.

Mondo : Hey, you busy?

Sakura : Not at all.

Perfect!

Mondo : I'm bored as hell and trying to avoid doing housework with Taka. Mind if I hide at your place? I could pick up a movie and some snacks. 

Sakura : I look forward too it.

Mondo : Awesome, I'll be there soon.

He hung up and let out a sigh of relief. Mondo just wanted to relax a bit before he tried to contact Takemichi, a fellow Crazy Diamond and usually his right hand man. Assuming he didn't change his phone number... Which meant he just got himself worked up over nothing.

"Fuck..." he grumbled to himself, for now he was going to give himself a break from thinking about it.

A quick drive to the convenience store resulted in one large plastic bagged nearly overflowing snacks and a random DVD. Unlike Kiyotaka, who was ever the health food nut when it came to Sakura, Mondo was a lot more lax. Hell, if he was in Sakura's shoes he would use it as an excuse to eat cotton candy for every meal. 

Once at her place he knocked on the door, a few seconds later it opened and there was Sakura, pregnant as ever.

"Please, come in." Sakura urged, wasting no time to return back to the couch to get off her feet.

"How you feeling?" Mondo asked as he made his way inside, messily dumping the bag of snacks onto the coffee table.

"Fairly sore and... what's the term again?" she paused for a brief moment. "Stir crazy, I cannot leave my place or be as active as much as I would wish too. Though our friends and Aoi visit often, I truly appreciate their company and yours." Sakura explained. "Speaking of which what movie did you pick out?"

"Uhh... I wasn't really paying attention." Mondo confessed and dug the DVD out from the pile of snacks. "Sort of just grabbed whatever."

"Please don't say it's an action movie. You know how much I despise the inaccurate portrayal of fighting." she reminded.

"I don't think an action movie would have the title 'The Last Trimester'." he read aloud and flipped to the back of the case to skim through the description. "Heh, it's one of those movies." he glanced at Sakura, who appeared puzzled. "You know, married couple can't have a baby so either they use a surrogate or find a woman who's pregnant. But the surrogate falls heads over heels with the wife's husband and gets all violent and obsessed." Mondo explained.

"That's... an ironic film to select at the moment." Sakura commented.

"Why? You're falling in love with me?" Mondo joked.

"Don't get your hopes up." Sakura joked along.

"Good thing we're all gay, we don't gotta worry about that!" he laughed. "So you wanna watch it or what?"

"It does sound interesting, I haven't heard of such a trope." Sakura nodded and adjusted some pillows behind her back before reaching for a bag of marshmallow candies.

Once Mondo popped in the disk he plopped himself on the couch and opened a bag of popcorn. He took a brief moment to glance at the round curve that was Sakura's midsection. His and Taka's daughter was in there... He shifted awkwardly in his spot.

"Hey... could I?" he gestured to her baby bump. Sure he touched it every now and then, but it didn't change the fact it still felt awkward whenever he asked or Sakura invited him too.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Go right ahead."

He delicately placed a hand on Sakura's belly, just above her protruding navel. Damn, he definitely could feel Midori in there. She just seemed to be getting bigger every time. 

"Push a little." Sakura suggested.

"What?" Mondo asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Go on, you can't possibly hurt me." she urged. "Just push a little."

Uhh... Okay? Not in the mood to ask for a more detailed explanation he lightly pressed. His eyes widen as he felt a little limb push back.

"She kicks back!" he exclaimed and pressed again in a different location, feeling another little kick in that spot. "Damn, you got some great reflexes, squirt!" he laughed loudly. 

Mondo kept up this little game of pushing on Sakura's midsection and having feeling Midori kick in whatever spot, at least until the previews for the movie finally ended and the movie started. He chuckled and finally stopped before glancing at Sakura.

"Is she alway this active?" he asked.

"Not lately, she's running out of room." Sakura responded. "Though occasionally she will try. Makes for some rather sleepless nights."

"Not even born yet and she's stubborn as hell." Mondo grinned before he and Sakura returned their attention to the film.

Yup, that was definitely gonna be one way to describe his and Kiyotaka's daughter, he just had a gut feeling about it. 

....

Okay... He had his little distraction, now it was time to finally make the call. Mondo groaned as he stared at the cellphone in his hands. Maybe he should try a text message instead? No, this was something he had to say. That and he was never good at writing...

"Here goes... something? I don't fucking know." he grumbled and dialled in Takemichi's number. 

Three rings later and no response. This was a dumb idea anyway, why would he have the same number after all these ye-

"Hello?"

Mondo's chest tighten, he knew that voice. 

"Takemichi?"

There was such a long pause, he could only imagine Takemichi's face during that time as the realization hit his old friend. 

"No way..." Takemichi finally said. "No fucking way... Mondo?!"

"Yeah... Been awhile, hasn't it?" he joked with a dry chuckle. "Ahhh..." fuck, he didn't think this through enough. "So... Er, how are you doing?"

"Don't give me that bullshit, where the hell did you disappear too?!" he demanded. 

"I went to Hope's Peak." Mondo informed bluntly.

"Thought you said that place was too preppy?" Takemichi inquired. "Then again I suppose you say a lot of stuff." he scoffed.

"Damnit Takemichi! I didn't call to start shit!" he huffed.

"Then why did you call?!" he demanded yet again.

"I... I don't fucking know!" Shit, shit, shit, shit! What the hell was he supposed to say?! He should had texted him instead. "To say sorry?!" Fuck, he shouldn't had made that sound like a question.

"Do you have any idea how we felt once you ditched us without saying anything?!" Takemichi hissed. "Why?! Why did you just leave?! You abandoned us! We're were practically family! You were my best friend for crying out loud!"

"Because I fucked up!" he shouted into the phone, very thankful he took the car instead of his bike. Otherwise he would have had some very unwelcome bystanders looking at him. "Like I goddamn do with everything! I packed up and left because I'm just another fuck up chickenshit! But goddamn I'm fucking sorry about it! If I could go back and give you all a proper goodbye I would!"

Another long pause of silence, each second of it just left him on edge. 

"What do you do now?" Takemichi asked.

"Uhh... I'm a carpenter." Mondo replied. "I go around fixing shit. Always kind of wanted to try fixing stuff instead of breaking it." he cleared his throat. "I'm er... also married... got a kid on the way too." maybe that would get good with Takemichi again. 

"Really?" a third pause. "Who's the unlucky woman?"

A joke! Joking was good! But now how was he suppose to drop another bomb that he was gay?! He wasn't able to work up the nerve to tell the gang he was curious about relationships with other men before he labeled himself as gay.

"About that..." he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Fuck it, might as well get it out of the way! "I'm married to a man... gay, you know?"

"Damn... Wish you told me sooner." huh? That wasn't a reaction he was expecting. "Would had been nice to know I wasn't the only gay member of the Crazy Diamonds."

"Shit, really?!" Mondo straighten up in his seat immediately. "Dude, that would had made that part of my crisis hell of a lot more easier if I known!" 

"Well it's not like we knew you were having a crisis!" Takemichi stated. 

"I know, I know... Didn't really get to actually exploring until I got to Hope's Peak." he explained. 

"So let me get this straight... no pun intended. But you're a carpenter, married, and got a kid on the way?" Takemichi asked.

"Y-yeah, we're having a girl. She'll be here in like a month. We're naming h-her Midori." he stuttered. 

"Congrats. At least you didn't book it out of town to do something stupid." he mused. "You actually made a life yourself."

"Thanks, man... I'm surprised I actually did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, in Ultra Despair Girls it's implied Takemichi is gay.


	14. Chapter 14

"You poor dear, you look ready to pop." Celestia commented as she shuffled the deck of cards for a couple rounds of blackjack between her, Sakura, and Aoi.

"I most certainly feel like it." Sakura half heartedly joked, making herself as comfortable as she could on her sofa. Now officially full term, all their was too do was wait until Mondo and Kiyotaka's daughter, Midori, arrived. 

"Aren't you nervous?" Aoi inquired, nibbling on some of the candies they had decided to gamble with as opposed to actual money. Celestia was the ultimate gambler after all, neither she or Aoi felt like losing something valuable. "Labor is supposed to be the most painful thing you can experience."

"I'm sure Sakura appreciates that reminder." Celestia scoffed sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"It is pointless to avoid thinking about it." Sakura spoke. "It is inevitably going to happen. And to answer your question, I suppose I am anxious about the birth. But I suspect every pregnant person is." she answered. "I knew what I was getting into when I offered to be their surrogate. If I didn't think I could handle labor I wouldn't had offered."

"You brave soul." Celestia smirked and gave the deck a final shuffle before she dealt the first card. 

"Mind if I get a drink?" Aoi asked as she got up.

"Go ahead, cups are in the left cupboard." Sakura informed as Aoi nodded and took off.

"Hmmm... I can see why your attracted to her." Celestia said. "Bubbly, you share similar interests... a very good match indeed." she mused. "Although she almost reminds me of your ex."

"I rather you didn't bring that up." Sakura resisted the urge to frown. "Aoi is completely different from her."

"I said ALMOST, but I will agree with you there." she nodded. "Aoi has more backbone then she did. But I'll drop the topic for now." she finished just as Aoi returned with a glass of cranberry juice. 

"Alright, now let's play! No way I'm going to lose this!" she declared and sat back down.

"Probably because the majority of candies we were supposed to gamble with you two ate." Celestia rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. "There won't be anything to bet with at this rate." she glanced at Sakura. "You I can understand, you got pregnancy cravings as an excuse. Aoi on the other hand just has a terrible set of sweet teeth."

"Oh hush, you're the one who brought this fancy candy over." Aoi huffed and popped another truffle in her mouth.

"I have no interest in the pathetic excuse of the so called sweets you commonly get. And besides, what's the point of betting and winning something I have no taste for?" she stated. "Now, shall we proceed? I would like to win some truffles before you eat them all."

...

"Mondo, what on earth do you plan to show me?" Kiyotaka asked, his arms outstretched in an attempt to avoid bumping into anything that might be in front of him.

Mondo had something that he had to show him, but for whatever reason he insisted on blocking his vision with his hands as they walked through the hallway of their home.

"Don't ask questions, just trust me on this!" he loudly reassured as he tried to guide Kiyotaka from behind. "Have I ever been wrong?"

"Well-"

"On second thought, don't answer that." Mondo interrupted. "Okay, you ready?" 

"Yes, I am absolutely done with you obstructing my sight." he huffed.

"Sheesh, have some faith in me for once." Mondo said and finally removed his hands. 

Kiyotaka recognize the nursery instantly, light green walls with floral and butterfly decals greeted him as he regained his sight, as well as the rocking chair, dresser, and various stuffed animals. All the stuff he and Mondo had gotten for Midori together, nothing stood out to him, until his eyes rested on a crib.

Wait... Crib? He didn't buy this... so that only meant.

"No way!" Kiyotaka gasped, a hand flying up to cover his gaping mouth. 

"Took awhile, I know." Mondo said with a large and proud grin on his face. "But I had to go the extra mile for her."

Kiyotaka couldn't even talk, he made his way to the crib and took in his husband's handy work. A beautiful crib painted pure white, but that wasn't the end of it. Mondo went above and beyond and carved an elaborate array of floral designs complete with butterflies, to match the decals on the wall onto the crib. 

"It's... I-it's gorgeous!" he managed to cry out. 

"You think so? It was a real pain in the ass to carve those designs, especially since I was never good at art." Mondo chuckled. "But considering its for Midori, I had too at least try."

His eyes were watering up, it started like a slow drizzle of rain before it quickly escalated into a downpour. His and Mondo's little daughter was going to sleep in the crib, anytime now she would finally be here into this world, and he would finally get to properly meet Midori.If anyone else were to see Kiyotaka in such a state, their first reaction would be to ask him what was wrong or if he was alright. But Mondo wasn't just anyone, he was his husband. He knew straightaway that Kiyotaka wasn't in distress, rather he was in a state of overwhelming joy. 

Kiyotaka sniffled as Mondo put an arm around him, pulling him in for a side hug. 

"I can't wait..." Kiyotaka sniffled again and looked up at Mondo. 

Mondo smiled and wiped at some of Kiyotaka's tears as they ran down his cheeks. "Same." he smiled softly.

Kiyotaka smiled back and returned to looking at the crib, basking in the warm feeling it gave him to look at the currently empty crib and know that it wouldn't be long until his daughter was sleeping in it. 

"So, Taka..." Mondo began, snapping Kiyotaka out of his lovely day dream. "I was thinking, maybe we should go out tonight? You know, nothing all that fancy, but like... just before Midori comes." he suggested. 

Kiyotaka wiped at his watery eyes a final time before he nodded. A swell idea! They probably wouldn't get the chance to go out as much with a newborn. 

"Sounds like an excellent idea!" he agreed, finally managing to collect himself. "Our last night out as just the two of us!" 

Such a charming idea, they could go out for dinner, or maybe pack some sandwiches and go stargazing on that hill, or-

A carnival... That was his husband's idea of a last night out. It wasn't that Kiyotaka hated carnivals, it just wasn't what he had in mind for their last night out before they officially became fathers. 

"I'm gonna eat cotton candy until I'm sick!" Mondo declared loudly, a big fat grin on his face. "And win a shit ton of those stuffed animals for Midori!"

"Mondo, I don't think the stuffed animals here are for infants." Kiyotaka said, uneasily eying one of the game booths that had stuffed animals ready to be won. God forbid their daughter got ahold of one of those cheaply made things and ended up choking on a plastic eye or stuffing.

"Fuck it! I'll just win a shit ton for you then!" he announced. "Then we're grab something to eat for dinner at the food trucks!" Mondo grabbed Kiyotaka by the hand and dragged him to the booths that hosted the various games.

Though Mondo's excitement didn't last long, apparently this year lacked a darts stand.

"Fuck, darts is like the only game I'm fucking good at!" he huffed.

Honestly, if Kiyotaka could handle Mondo, a child would probably be a breeze. 

"What about that game over there?" Kiyotaka pointed to the booth that was simply some bottles that were stacked on top of each other and the player was given a ball to knock them down with.

"Do I look like Leon to you?" Mondo complained but none the less made his way over and placed a hefty amount of cash on the counter. 

Kiyotaka could only shake his head, there was no good ending to this. 

The first ball Mondo threw was far too off to the right, the second was too low, the third was too high, and so on and so on. Around the ninth and final ball he only managed to get it to touch a bottle enough for it to wobble, but not fall over.

"This is bullshit!" Mondo declared, bitterly accepting his so called prize of a frog keychain that was given out to players who didn't score well, or in Mondo's case not at all. "Damn game is rigged!"

Kiyotaka dug through his own pockets and placed some money on the counter. "Allow me to try."

"I'm telling you, it's fucking rigged." Mondo grumbled, kicking at a discarded soda can.

Kiyotaka was given four balls, and he seemed to have the complete opposite luck at the game then Mondo did. Each throw resulted in each of the towers of bottles being knocked down with maximum precision. 

"Congratulations, take any prize you want some the top shelf." the scrawny man running the booth announced.

"The dog, please." Kiyotaka requested with a grin and was handed a gigantic stuffed beagle. He looked to Mondo and handed him the toy. "One stuff animal for my dearest husband." he said in a teasing manner.

"Fuck you." Mondo responded.

"Guess you don't want this then."

"I never said that." 

Kiyotaka laughed as his husband snatched up the oversized stuffed animal. Where on earth did he intend to put the thing when they got home?!

"You know what, fuck these games. Let's grab a bite to eat." Mondo suggested with the dog under his arm.

Kiyotaka's nose wrinkled, rarely did he ever eat junk food, especially for a meal. 

"Don't give me that look, come on! Live a little!" Mondo urged.

"Alright, but I don't want anything deeped fried." he reluctantly agreed.

"Dude, that's like half the shit here." Mondo rolled his eyes before they took off in search of their ideal food truck.

Eventually they settled on a taco truck, though Mondo of course had to go to another truck to grab a bag of cotton candy. 

"Can't wait until Midori's old enough to come here." Mondo mused, stuffing a large chunk of blue cotton candy in his mouth, licking the sticky residue off his lips. 

Admittedly the thought of taking their daughter here terrified him, the place was packed! What if they lost her here?! But then the image of his and Mondo's daughter wanting to play games, win prizes, go on rides, and eat cotton candy filled his mind. She would be smiling ear to ear, all hyped on sugar and probably begging Mondo to join her on one of the rides yet again, or asking Kiyotaka to win her another stuffed animal. Thinking that made him feel like the happiest man in the world...

He nodded and bit into his chicken taco, which he ordered with as many vegetables as possible to keep it remotely healthy. 

"It does sound like a fun family outing." Kiyotaka said once he finished chewing and checking that nothing gotten on his shirt. 

"It's so weird, I used to make fun of all this family stuff." Mondo said. "But now all I can think of is how much I'm looking forward to all the dorky family shit. Outings, dinner together, cheering her on at after school activities, even those fucking stick figure decals people put on their car windows. I want in on that so badly now." he confessed with a chuckle. "If you would had told me I would be saying this shit years ago, I would had called you crazy."

Kiyotaka smiled softly, he too wanted to join in on all of what Mondo said. "It's amazing, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, so much is fucking changing, and I mean that in a good way!"

....

Sakura's eyes flickered opened, the soft green glow from her digital clock read that it was just barely pass five in the morning. With a grunt she carefully propped herself up and away from the pregnancy pillow Toko suggested to help her get used to sleeping on her side. 

Aoi, who had decided to spend the night after the two of them stayed up late watching television, groaned tiredly and cracked opened an eye. 

"Mmm... you alright?" she asked then immediately yawned.

"Yes... I... I just need to stand for a moment." Sakura couldn't describe it, but she felt the sudden urge to stand. Maybe it was her body telling her to start stretching her legs more.

With a small huff she tiredly got out of bed and walked the best she could across the room on her swollen ankles. Sakura pressed her back against the wall and let out a loud sigh of relief, glad she now satisfied whatever urge her body needed. Just another unexpected pregnancy symptom was her best guess.

Then it happened.

Sakura felt it, she swore she could even hear it. What she could describe as a popping sensation and dare to even say sound, that was fallowed by a large gush of fluid. 

It took awhile for Sakura to even register what happened, for what felt like forever she stared at the damp stain on the crotch of her dull grey nightgown and the puddle on the floor beneath her. 

"Oh... oh my god... Oh my god!" Aoi cried out, eyes wide in shock as she stared at her. "OH MY GOD!" all the colour drained from her girlfriend's face.

"Aoi..." Sakura spoke in a calm voice despite her own heart racing a mile a minute. "Look at me... I need my cellphone." 

Aoi frantically nodded and scrambled to grab Sakura's phone off the nightstand and handed it to her, but not before yelling 'OH MY GOD!' one last time.

Sakura quickly went about dialling Mondo and Kiyotaka's number, after five painfully long rings there was an answer.

"Hello....?" she couldn't tell whether it was Mondo or Taka answering through a loud and long yawn.

And without missing a beat, Sakura spoke.

"My water just broke."


	15. Chapter 15

Kiyotaka froze, eyes as wide as dinner plates as Sakura said those words. It took a few seconds for what she said to sink in.

"What?! Are you okay?!" Kiyotaka sat up.

"I haven't had any contractions yet, so far that's been it." Sakura explained. 

Okay... That was normal. Right? The books said it could take a few hours for contractions to kick in.

"A-alright... Just stay there, could take awhile for things to seriously start." he managed to say, rather surprise he could do that without screaming his heard off, although that's what he felt like doing. "We're be right over. Will you be okay until we get there?"

"I will be fine, I have Aoi with me." she reassured. Good, at least she wasn't alone. 

"R-right, we're be right over!" Kiyotaka stuttered before Sakura hung up. 

He turned to his husband, who remained snoring up a storm with drool pooling out the corner of his mouth as he slept. Completely unaware of what took place being the heavy sleeper that he was.

"Mondo, get up." Kiyotaka urged, doing his hardest to not raise his voice. The last thing he needed was his husband freaking out, though knowing Mondo it was inevitable.

"Five more minutes..." he grumbled, rolling onto his side to face away from Kiyotaka. 

"Mondo, you need to get up now!" Kiyotaka said in a far more stern tone as he got out of bed and ripped away the blankets off of Mondo.

"Did I over sleep?" he asked and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Fuck... I gotta meet with this dude for work."

"No, you aren't going to work today." Kiyotaka corrected.

"I'm not?" he asked in confusion which was then fallowed by a loud yawn.

"Mondo, it's happening."

"What's happening?" he repeatedly back. Rather than answer, Kiyotaka gave Mondo a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. "Oh..." Mondo's eyes widen to nearly cartoon proportions as he finally realize exactly what he meant. "Oh!" he sprang out of bed. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he shouted, storming around the bedroom in a frenzy. "Shit! It's fucking happening!"

Kiyotaka quickly grabbed ahold of Mondo's arm, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Mondo, Look at me!" he cupped Mondo's face. "Calm down before you hurt yourself!"

"I am calm!" he screamed. "Holy fuck! It's actually happening right now! I'm gonna be a dad- I mean we're gonna be dads! Goddamn it's happening now!" 

Kiyotaka had to clamp a hand over Mondo's mouth to get him to stop from yelling. He was well aware Mondo tended to shout whenever he was nervous, and now was no exception. But he certainly wasn't helping the situation!

"Mondo, her water broke. She hasn't had any contractions yet." he informed, making sure he's said each word slow and clear, but above all calm. The complete opposite of how he actually felt! But the knowledge he had from the many books he read were reassuring. "It could be hours until things start." he finally removed his hand from Mondo's mouth. "For now I suggest we gather our things and go over to Sakura's place until it's time to go to the hospital, okay?"

Mondo slowly nodded. "Yeah... Alright, let's get our shit together. Freaking out won't help if Midori comes."

Kiyotaka was tempted to correct him and say it was more 'when' Midori came, there was no denying that she was definitely coming. But for Mondo's sake he decided against pointing out the obvious to him and just got dressed along side his husband. Trying to mentally prepare himself for the long awaited meeting of their precious little daughter.

....

It felt so odd for Sakura, sitting on the living room couch and just waiting. Knowing that the child she was carrying for her dear friends was officially on her way. Sure her water had broken not too long ago, but it felt so surreal. She herself couldn't believe it was finally happening, luckily having to calm a panic ridden Aoi, kept her in reality. Though her girlfriend was doing much better now.

"Uhh... Are you SURE you don't need anything or..." Aoi asked again, sitting next to her on the couch. "Do you want a drink of something?"

"No, you don't need to fret." Sakura reassured for what felt like the thousandth time. 

"How can I not?! You're having a freaking baby! Well technically it's not actually yours... But you know what I mean!" she cried out. 

Sakura didn't know whether she was relieved when Mondo or Kiyotaka arrived, or annoyed if it meant the possibility of having two more people she would have to reassure.

"How is everything?!" Kiyotaka immediately asked as Aoi let them in, him and Mondo more or less charging on through.

"The same as when I called." Sakura responded. "Nothing."

"So what? We kill time until it's time to go to the hospital?" Mondo asked.

"That's what the hospital staff informed me when I called." Sakura replied, shifting on the couch to try to get more comfortable. "Unless the contractions are irregular or simply aren't starting."

"Alright. Is there anything you need or...?" Kiyotaka inquired. It sounded more like a plea, desperate to do anything to keep busy. No surprise given Taka was terrible at doing nothing. 

"Actually there is. I have yet to clean up the mess from when my water broke." she explained. "I would had done it myself, but it slipped my mind. I rather not have that stain on my carpet." 

Kiyotaka eagerly nodded. "Of course! Just tell me where you keep the cleaning supplies!"

"Under the kitchen sink." she informed.

And with that bit of information Kiyotaka left, then soon walked passed them with a bucket of warm soapy water, a sponge, and his hands in yellow rubber gloves, as he made his way to Sakura's bedroom to clean up.

Mondo on the other hand went about preparing a pot of coffee for everyone, aside from Sakura. She had parted ways with her beloved mixture of protein and coffee for so long. Despite her anxiety about birth, she definitely was eager to be allowed her coffee fix once again. It gave her something to look forward too.

Hours passed, during that time Kiyotaka went about tidying up her house as he was in desperate need of something productive to do. Mondo manage to do his hair in it's signature pompadour, eyeliner, and actually made himself a quick breakfast. Despite Sakura saying she didn't mind, Kiyotaka went on a rant saying it was rude to do so. Aoi never once left her side, constantly asking if Sakura was alright and offering to get her a pillow for her back or a glass of water. 

A sharp tightness caused her face to twist as it crept across her body, it wasn't alarmingly painful. But just enough to cause her to visibly react. The contraction lasted roughly half a minute before it eventually died down.

"A-are you alright?" Aoi asked timidly, gingerly putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder. 

"Yes, I'm definitely... having contractions now." she announced, taking a moment to adjust the pillow behind her back. Knowing that eventually the cramping sensation would grow worst and more intense than ever imaginable, she wanted to at least try to get comfortable.

Time blurred together, steadily within the next couple of hours the contractions not only grew closer, but far more painful. Sakura was never a loud person by any means, but she couldn't help but groan as the contractions grew intense. It was starting to get the point where she began to feel like she was being torn in two. 

Kiyotaka tried to help her through the breathing exercises he studied to help her through labor. As well as timing the space between each contraction with a stopwatch. Aoi allowed her to grip her hand (not squeezing her girlfriend's hand too hard gave Sakura something to focus on, which offered some relief.) and offer her sips of water in between each painful wave, as she tried to brace herself for the next contraction 

Mondo entered the living room, cellphone in hand as he just called the hospital a few minutes ago. "So, how far apart are they now?" he asked.

The answer came in the form of Sakura moaning from another contraction that felt like someone of equal strength of her was using her as a stress ball. Then a little click from Kiyotaka's stopwatch as he helped her breathe through it.

"Five minutes apart." Kiyotaka announced, looking up from his stopwatch to his husband. "Meaning it's officially time to go to the hospital."

Sakura would had let out a sigh of relief if didn't already feel so exhausted. If labor already rendered her feeling so tired, she couldn't imagine what actually pushing Midori out with be like. Especially since she planned to do this without the assistance of drugs. 

"I got a suitcase packed in my closet." Sakura managed to say.

"I'll get it!" Aoi sprang off the couch and scrambled back to the bedroom.

"Alright, let's get you to the car while she does that." Mondo stated.

He and Kiyotaka helped her off the couch and to her feet. Carefully they helped her to the car, getting her in the back seat just as Aoi returned to put her suitcase in the trunk. 

"Alright, off to the hospital!" Kiyotaka announced, starting up the car once everyone was buckled in.

....

The ride was uneventful aside from her needing to vomit (luckily they had a spare bag) and Aoi and Mondo trying to help her through each contraction. 

As soon as the car was parked, two members of the hospital staff got Sakura into a wheelchair and got her inside. 

She was rather pleasantly surprised that her hospital room had more of a homey appearance. Complete with beige walls as opposed to white and even a couch. Though unfortunately it still had that hospital smell, but that was the least of her concerns now that she was going to be expelling a seven pound baby out of her body.

Once she got changed into a hospital gown with the assistance of Aoi, she got settled onto her bed. 

"S-Sorry I'm la-late." stuttered a small timid voice. "And- oh! S-Sakura?"

As soon as Sakura caught sight of her choppy violet hair, she instantly recognized her as Mikan Tsumiki. The ultimate nurse and another student who also attended Hope's Peak. Sakura, despite being as active as she was didn't mean she was immune to injuries. Whenever she couldn't get her hands on protein to cure her distress, she normally turned to Mikan during her school days. On top of that Mikan also attended a lot of sports events, should anyone get injuries while taking part.

"Hello... Mikan." Sakura tried to greet back, despite her contractions showing no mercy.

"Ah.... Hi..." Mikan gulped nervously before looking on at Mondo and Kiyotaka. "Ahhh... Which one of you are the father?" she asked.

"We're the fathers!" Kiyotaka declared put an arm around Mondo.

"Both of you?" Mikan asked, looking at them then back to Sakura.

"Oh, she isn't the mother!" Aoi pipped in, clearly sensing her confusion. "She's just a surrogate for them!"

"Oh, I see... Sorry about the confusion. Please forgive me!" Mikan squeaked.

"Don't worry! I was confused at first too!" Aoi reassured with a smile. 

"Al-alright... er... if their the fathers, and Sakura's the surrogate... can I ask who you are?" she requested. "If that's alright!"

"I'm Aoi, the girlfriend!" she announced.

"R-right... I'm Mikan Tsumiki..." she introduced before making her way over to Sakura's bed. "L-let's get you hooked up to an IV."

Despite it taking two tries to properly insert it into the vein, Sakura didn't mind at all. A sharp little pinch was far from what she was experiencing and what was bound to come.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hmmm... it would appear you're six centimetres dilated." Mikan announced, finishing up a cervix exam. "Almost complete with the active labor phase. I don't think it will be long until you're finally seven centimetres and in the transition phase." she mused, rolling off the latex gloves and dropping them off in a waste bin. "A-and judging by how rather fast everything is progressing, she'll probably be here soon. My guess w-would be sometime in the afternoon."

Sakura nodded, just glad the exam was done with before she had to deal with another contraction.

"I read the birth plan, no drugs for any kind of pain relief, r-right?" Mikan asked.

"Yes... That's what I intended from the very start." Sakura replied. "Although my lower back is extremely uncomfortable."

"Aw... epidurals are fun to put in." Mikan sighed sadly, apparently disappointed. Earning a few odd looks from everyone. "B-but I c-can offer a few drug free techniques if you're interested." she offered. "Do you feel like getting out of bed?"

No, but the promise of relief was too great to pass up. With the assistance of Mikan and Mondo, Sakura got up from the bed and back onto her sore feet. From there Mikan guided her to the couch, but rather than have her sit, she had Sakura on her knees and using the couch as a support. 

"W-what I'm about to do is called a double hip squeeze. It's a type of pressure massage that really anyone can do." she explained, glancing over at the other three. "So umm... what you want too do is place your hands along the hips, with your finger tips on the top of the hip bones." Mikan explained as she did so. "Remember to keep your hands parallel to the floor and your palms stationary. Now finally rotate your hands inwards to add pressure. Use y-your palms to apply pressure up and in. And l-lastly your palms should be in the fleshy circle of the muscle, avoid any bone."

Mikan demonstrated how to apply pressure just as Sakura was faced with another contraction. The timing couldn't had been any better, the pressure on her hips was definitely taking a good chunk of the pain away from her lower back.

"How was that?" Mikan asked.

"That...was the easiest contraction I had in the past few hours." Sakura said just as it ended. 

"I-it's good to uhh... occasionally experiment with different spots when doing this." Mikan informed. "To find out what works best." she helped Sakura up yet again before glancing at the others. "Er... The cafeteria is still serving breakfast if any of you are hungry."

Right away Kiyotaka shook his head. "I normally say breakfast is the most important meal of the day! But I think I'll have to pass."

"Same for me!" Aoi agreed. "I don't want to leave Sakura's side."

Though unfortunately for the two their stomachs growled, and in sync humorously enough. Sakura could had laughed if she didn't feel so tired.

"Please, go eat." Sakura urged. "I appreciate you wanting to stay with me, but by no means should you starve yourself to do so."

"But I don't want you to be alone." Aoi argued with a frown.

"I can stay." Mondo offered. "I already ate. You two need the energy."

"Oh... alright." Kiyotaka reluctantly agreed alongside Aoi, who slowly nodded. "But we're be back as soon as possible!" 

....

Kiyotaka let out a sigh as he sat down at one of the many cafeteria tables of the hospital. It felt like he was at Hope's Peak again, only the food was far less appealing. Soggy scrambled eggs and pancakes that were dry no matter how much syrup you used wasn't something typically served at his old high school. At least the apple and cup of tea he also got looked appetizing.

Aoi didn't even bother with getting anything from the hospital's cafeteria, instead she raided the closest vending machine and sat across to him with an armful of goodies.

"Don't you know you can't trust hospital food?" Aoi asked as she ripped opened a bag of bite sized cookies. "It's just straight up awful!" she then proceeded to shovel a couple cookies in her mouth.

Kiyotaka decided to just say nothing and used the flimsy plastic knife and fork to cut a perfect square from his small stack of pancakes. It didn't compare to the homemade pancakes he and Mondo made together in the mornings from time to time. Bland and dry... The eggs weren't any better, he only managed to eat one and a half of the pancakes and a third of the eggs before he solely switched to the apple and tea.

"Here," Aoi pushed a candy bar towards him.

"I don't think chocolate is suitable for breakfast." he said, staring at the bar like Aoi was suggesting he should eat a dead rat.

"Come on! You need the sugar, one little candy bar won't kill you." she urged. 

Well... low blood sugar certainly wasn't good. Reluctantly he plucked the candy bar out of her hands and unwrapped it, taking a large bite and smearing sticky caramel on his lips. 

"Sooooo, excited about finally being a daddy?" she asked. 

After wiping his mouth with a napkin and taking a quick sip of tea he nodded. "But of course! Me and Mondo had been wanting to have a child for years now!" he stated. "I have been more than eager to finally meet our daughter! See what Midori looks like, finally hold her, see who she grows up to become..." he said, feeling his face shift into a dreamy expression. "I'm so excited..."

He fantasized about a family for so long. Being able to hear the pitter patter of little feet running down the hall, sharing his last name with his daughter, snuggle with her on the couch, he couldn't wait. But at the same time there was so much uncertainty in the future when it came to raising a child. Who would Midori be? The answer was simple, No one knows. Typically Kiyotaka wasn't a fan of surprises... but this must had been one of the rare exceptions. Kiyotaka was looking forward to Midori surprising him and Mondo with who she was.

"I can tell." Aoi spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I can just feel the love you have for your daughter oozing off of you." she grinned. "You aren't nervous at all?"

"I had read plenty of books about child care, so I think it's safe to say my studies in that area are sufficient... However..." he bit into his lower lip. "Every child is different, you never know what could happen. It's odd, I'm looking forward to everything but I'm also nervous. Does that make sense too you?" he asked. "I apologize for rambling..."

"Don't sweat it." she reassured, opening a bag of chips. "Every new parent feels that way, their would probably be something wrong with you if you weren't nervous."

"It's just a mess of emotions, that's how I would describe it." he replied and took another bite of the candy bar, washing it down with a swing of tea. "I'm excited, worried, scared, giddy, everything really." 

"I would be too, actually I guess I am too. It is MY girlfriend squeezing out your daughter." Aoi pointed out. "I definitely am worried about something happening to Sakura."

"As am I, she is a dear friend of mine and Mondo's. It just makes the situation more worrisome." he idly looked at the tea in his mug. "If it wasn't for Sakura, me and Mondo might had never became fathers. Assuming all goes well with labor and delivery of course! I'm well aware Sakura is in good hands with the medical team." he shook his head. "Forgive me, I keep rambling, I don't really know what to say right now... It's just, it's happening! Soon me and Mondo will have the child we been dreaming about for years. I can't believe it..."

Aoi smiled sweetly after she swallowed a mouthful of chips. "You two will make great dads."

"You think so?" Kiyotaka asked.

"Of course!" she mused. "The way you two talk about Midori, like she isn't even born yet and she's already showered in so much love from her daddies." Aoi cooed. "She's gonna be one lucky little girl to have you two."

....

"Harder." Sakura demanded, once again on her knees and using the couch as a support.

In need of relief from contractions, Mondo took it upon himself to perform the hip squeezes that Mikan had showed them. Admittedly it was getting difficult to apply the amount of pressure Sakura kept wanting. Mainly because it was actually one hell of a workout in his arms. But he dared not complain, sore arms was nothing compared to what Sakura was going through.

With a little huff he applied more pressure as he watched Sakura ride through the next contraction. "How's that?"

"I... I don't think it's wise I do this much longer." she panted. 

"Shit, am I doing it wrong?" Mondo asked. The last thing he wanted to do was somehow make Sakura more uncomfortable.

"No." she shook her head. "It's just I don't think I'll be able to stand soon. I rather not be on the floor anymore."

"Alright, let's get you up then." 

Mondo carefully got Sakura back to her feet, but not in bed before another contraction hit and she had to deal with it standing up. He allowed her to wrap her arms around him to support herself, even if it resulted in her fingernails digging painfully into his shoulder blades. 

"Sorry about... that." Sakura said afterwards as Mondo guided her back to her bed.

"Don't apologize, ain't nothing compared to what your going through." he reassured. "Er... speaking of which, thanks a lot for doing this. Means the fucking world to me and Taka...." Mondo thanked awkwardly. 

"Don't thank me yet... I'm still not done." she said tiredly. 

"How can I not? You gone through all this for me and Taka, I don't think we're ever be able to repay you." Mondo replied. 

"You could trade bodies with me now." Sakura joked dryly. "But for now some water would do."

"On it." Mondo automatically got up and left the room. 

Despite the nearest water cooler being only three doors down, it felt like he was miles away. His little girl was so close to finally being here! He was scared shitless he might end up missing something if he wasn't careful enough, as stupid as that sounded. He plucked a flimsy paper cone from its dispenser and filled it with cool water before speed walking back to the room. Somehow managing to not spill a single drop.

"Here you go." he handed her the little paper cone.

"Thank you." right away Sakura drank deeply, within seconds the cone was drained.

"Need anything else?" he offered, tossing the cone into a waste bin.

"No... But thank you." she replied.

About five minutes later Kiyotaka and Aoi returned from breakfast. Or more like snack time since Aoi had her pockets stuffed with sweets. 

"Did we miss anything?" Aoi asked.

"No, nothing serious yet." Mondo informed and looked at the clock. Just a few minutes pass eleven, Mikan said Midori would probably be here in the afternoon.

Each minute felt like an hour, as if time began getting slower and slower. The hands on the clocked moved at a snail's pace. Mondo was never a patient man, just sitting around with nothing to do made him restless. Bouncing his leg, offering to get Sakura water, looking around the hospital room like he was a five year old who needed to get into everything. Sure he was anxious as hell about today being the day he and Taka would finally meet Midori, but the waiting part was making him bored to death. 

When he wasn't helping Sakura through a contraction, Mondo often more or less found himself thinking 'Damn it, hurry up and be born, Midori.' Not even born yet and she was already pushing his buttons. Heh, she was gonna be one hell of a kid. He just knew it... If she would ever come that is.

It was around two pm that Sakura underwent another exam.

"Ah!" Mikan squeaked. "You're nine centimetres! Judging my the looks of it your be ready to deliver in..." she clicked her tongue in thought. "Twenty minutes? Maybe less."

"S-seriously?" Mondo immediately straighten up in his seat. Finally! Fucking hell! It really was happening now! He was going to be a father! 

It really was official now. He was gonna be a dad with his husband! 

"W-we should get everything prepped now. Won't be long until it's time to push."

....

"Oh good..." Sakura responded. "I... I don't think I can keep this up much longer." Sakura didn't want to alarm her girlfriend and friends. But the pain had her reaching her limit. Each contraction was causing the fibres of her muscles to tighten and cramp to unimaginable lengths. 

The room began to fill up, getting as busy as five o'clock traffic. A few nurses setting out trays of various medical tools should an unexpected complication arise,   
Mikan laying out a little soft white blanket and little white and teal beanie, and the doctor setting himself at the end of the bed.

"Alright, on the next contraction I want you to push." he informed. "But not too hard, I don't want you to tear."

Sakura nodded and mustered up what little energy she had to bear down, her eyes shut tightly as she gripped the side of her bed. Well aware she probably wouldn't be able to focus on not crushing her Aoi, Mondo, or Taka's hands should they make the mistake to try to hold hers. If she had to choose a single word to describe it besides painful, it would be pressure. There was so much of it, every bit of it just fed that sudden instinct she developed to push. Though fallowing the doctor's instructions, Sakura paced herself and made sure to not push too hard. Midori moved downward, Sakura was sure of that, even if it was just a measly millimetre. 

When that contraction ended, Sakura was already left out of breath. Panting heavily and trying to make the most of each moment between the contractions to breathe.

"Excellent." the doctor praised. "Now do the same on the next contraction."

"You're doing great!" Kiyotaka mused, dapping the sweat off her forehead with a napkin. 

She couldn't thank Taka, first she was too tired to speak. And secondly was the next contraction hit before she expected it. Despite being off guard for it, she pushed yet again. Harder than the first time, but still heeding the doctor's warning about not pushing too hard. But she was just forceful enough to make more progress than she did on the first push. She gasped for breath when the contraction ended, once again left panting like a dog during a hot summer's day. 

Sakura didn't even need any instructions on the third time, although it didn't make bearing down any less painful. This was becoming less about giving Mondo and Kiyotaka the child they deserved and a chance to finally raise a child. And more about pushing Midori out of her body to finally end all the pain and commotion.

"You can do it, Sakura!" Aoi cheered on, as if she was Sakura's own personal cheerleader. 

She took a deep breath and pushed yet again when another contraction hit her. Even with her normally quiet nature, Sakura couldn't help but make some kind of ungodly noise to release the air in her lungs. Somehow managing to keep it low and not let it become some ear piercing shriek that was considered the norm for labouring people.

"Ah, good job! She's moving down a lot." the doctor informed. "You're progressing very quickly. Hang in there, she's almost here."

The next contraction ended sooner than Sakura would had preferred. She was eager to push more so she could finally put an end to this and let Mondo and Taka have their little girl they so desperately wanted to meet. 

"Thank... goodness..." Sakura said, her voice dry and raspy with the wear and tear of birthing. 

The next contraction couldn't had come fast enough, gripping the sides of the bed so hard her knuckles turned white. She mustered every bit of strength left in her to push another time, unable to hold back she screamed. No, not one of pain, but more like a battle cry. It wasn't long before another cry joined alongside Sakura's.

....

"Here she is!"

Mondo stared in awe, watching the newborn in the doctor's arms. Her limbs flailing as she cried loudly. After all these months of waiting, seeing her on ultrasounds screens, listening to her heartbeat, and feeling her kick, she was finally here. He was left speechless, he could hardly believe it. Holy shit! He had a daughter! He was a goddamn dad! He almost expected this to all be a dream, if it was he never wanted to wake up. He watched as the doctor began to carefully clean Midori of the vernix. As the doctor did so, Midori's dark head of hair grew just a bit lighter as she was cleaned. Mondo's jaw dropped in realization that his daughter's hair was dark brown. Dark brown... just like the part of his hair that he didn't bleach or style. 

His husband wasn't even trying not to cry, tears streamed down his crimson eyes like a waterfall at the very sight of Midori. Not that he could blame Kiyotaka, he himself was getting a little teary eyed.

"Do you want to hold her?" the doctor asked, snapping Mondo out of his train of thought.

"Uhh..." there was a brief pause. He was struggling to process what was actually happening as he was still in shock. "Yeah."

He tensed as he was handed the little bundle, but soon relaxed once he was sure he was holding Midori right. Mondo couldn't help but chuckle as Midori kept crying loudly.

"You got quite the pair of lungs." he laughed breathlessly, finding his mouth agape yet again when he saw a flicker of dull lilac eyes. "No way..."

There was no denying that it was Mondo who Midori was biologically related to. To the thick dark brown hair and fierce little purple eyes, even to how loud she was right now. 

"She's so beautiful..." Kiyotaka said through a joyful sob. "Just like you..." he smiled, eyes still beyond watery.

"She's so small..." Mondo smiled, watching Midori slowly settle down in his arms. "Hey Midori... I'm your dad." Dad... He was a fucking dad now! "Well one of them." he joked lightly.

"W-would you like to cut the cord?" Mikan asked.

"Taka, you should." Mondo urged. "Only fair since I got to hold her first."

His husband sniffled and nodded, accepting the scissors from Mikan. After Mikan showed him where to cut, he used the scissors and cut the cord. Freeing Midori from Sakura, separating the two at long last.

"Congratulations..." Sakura spoke up, exhausted.

"T-thank you, thank you so much Sakura." Kiyotaka sniffled. "Midori wouldn't be here if it weren't for you... you have no idea how much this means to us."

"You owe my girlfriend big time." Aoi joked, stroking Sakura's head. "But seriously, congrats. She's such a cutie."

"Come on, it's your turn to hold her." Mondo mused. He could had kept holding little Midori forever. But it was time her other dad got to hold her.

Kiyotaka' face broke into a big smile. "Alright..." Mondo carefully handed her off, causing Midori to hiccup a cry from the sudden change. "Oh Midori... you look just like your other daddy." he gushed, planting a soft kiss on her head. "Look at all that hair! You're just a little cutie, aren't you?" he cooed. "Me and your daddy waited so long to finally meet you... we love you so much."

He could had kept watching Taka coo as he held their daughter for hours, it was just such a beautiful sight. Everything about this was just two perfect, from this point on it wouldn't just be him and Kiyotaka anymore. Now they had a perfect little girl to take care of.


	17. ART!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so not a new chapter... the next chapter is taking a bit longer since I gotten a part time job. It's only for the Halloween season though. However I do have a treat for you, a little art done by my friend. Orginally I was planning to share this later, but with the slow update I wanted to give you a little something. Enjoy!


	18. Chapter 18

No one could sleep well that night, aside from Sakura who was exhausted from the birth and needed all the rest she could get. Aoi kept constantly checking up on her girlfriend, while Mondo and Kiyotaka constantly hovered over Midori in her little hospital bassinet. Whether they were checking up on their daughter, attending to her needs, taking pictures of her, or just to simply gaze in amazement at the little bundle that was officially theirs.

Even with the lack of sleep, Kiyotaka was the first one up among them. Still true to his early bird nature even with the current situation. A soft smile touched his face as he peered into the bassinet. There she was, sound asleep without a care in the world, was Midori. The precious little angel that was his and Mondo's daughter.

Watching her sleep just made his insides feel so warm and fuzzy. After waiting patiently with trial and error, he and Mondo were dads at long last, and looking over Midori was proof of that. Seeing her small little lilac eyes flicker open as she stirred just made his smile grow bigger.

"Good morning, Midori." he greeted in the most gentle and soft voice he had ever used. "Early bird like me?" he cooed, scooping Midori up in his arms.

She was perfect, seven pounds and five ounces, nineteen inches long, ten fingers and ten toes. Kiyotaka couldn't be any happier, both his daughter and dear friend Sakura were in perfect health. 

He kissed her forehead and laughed softly as her face scrunched up from the sensation. His daughter was the cutest baby ever! Although Kiyotaka supposed every parent probably felt that way about their child. But how could he not? Her little button nose, chubby little cheeks, all that soft hair, Midori was the most beautiful baby there ever was!

"You up already?" Kiyotaka instantly recognized his husband's tired voice. 

"Of course I am. As the old saying goes, the early bird catches the worm!" or in this case get to be the first to hold Midori today.

Mondo chuckled and got off of the couch that he and Taka had to sleep on. Thank goodness Sakura talked Aoi into sharing the hospital bed with her, it was hard enough for Kiyotaka and his husband to sleep on the couch. He couldn't imagine how cramped it would be if a third person had to spend the night sleeping on it with them.

"How is she?" Mondo asked, joining Kiyotaka in gazing lovingly at Midori.

"She just woke up." he informed. "Most likely in need of breakfast, aren't you Midori?" Kiyotaka was unable to use anything but his newfound high pitched 'daddy voice' as he called it. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" 

"Then I'll take her while you do that."

Very reluctantly he handed Midori over to Mondo. Though he had to admit, seeing his partner hold their daughter and look at her so lovingly made him smile. Pity they didn't have a set of multiples, that way they both would have an infant to hold, maybe more! He instantly snapped himself out of that thought, now he was getting a little carried away! All because he just wanted to hold Midori some more. For now he needed to focus on getting some food into his daughter.

Even though they already made sure to pack bottles and formula for the eventual stay at the hospital, the hospital had supplied them with the same items for the overnight stay. After doing up a bottle and making sure he measured everything with the accuracy that could rival the most skilled sharp shooter, he handed off the bottle to Mondo.

"Alright, let's get you some breakfast, kiddo." Mondo mused softly with a smile. Kiyotaka watched as Midori latched onto the nipple of the bottle and began to suckle hungrily. "Heh, for someone so small you sure can eat." 

Ha! Just more proof Midori was taking after Mondo, both ate like horses! Even though he already had dozens of pictures of their daughter on his phone, he couldn't help but take out his cellphone and snap a few more. Normally he was never one to care about posting anything on social media, but he couldn't wait to show all his friends who couldn't visit at the moment his and Mondo's precious little daughter. Plus he wanted as many photos of Midori as his phone could store, for those inevitable moments he would have to be away from her. 

"So, who's gonna stop by again?" Mondo asked, not taking his eyes off Midori for a second. 

"Unfortunately only Yasuhiro and Byakuya. Everyone else either has work, important errands or are out of town. But they send their congratulations and can't wait to meet Midori personally." Kiyotaka explained. Although perhaps so few friend coming was a good thing. With Sakura still exhausted from the delivery, a great big roomful of people might just wear her out more.

"Only them?" Mondo looked at him with a slight frown. "Hiro I can kind of get... But Byakuya?" 

"He's only visiting as an excuse to get out of some meeting." he informed. 

"Typical." Mondo scoffed, watching Midori polish off her bottle. "Bastard better give us some expensive ass gifts then."

"Mondo, language!" Kiyotaka snapped. It was just like some sudden instinct to scold him on his language more than usual. He recalled Matoko making a joke that any kid raised by Mondo would probably have a word like 'fuck' or 'asshole' be their first word. No way would Kiyotaka allow that to become a reality.

"Ugh, sorry... Forgot no swearing around Midori." he apologized.

"And don't forget to burp her. I heard stories of babies who projectile vomit if you don't properly burp them after a feeding." Kiyotaka informed.

"I know, Taka." Mondo rolled his eyes. "Give me some credit, I actually did my homework on this." 

Mondo was more than happy to prove this statement, and Midori proved she could not only eat like a champ, but belch like one too. Just when Taka thought she couldn't be anymore like Mondo.

"There, all better." Mondo mused, planting a big and loud kiss on Midori's little head. "Nice and full now."

"Can I hold her now?" Kiyotaka asked, more or less begging to have her in his arms again. 

"Sheesh, you're passing her around like you're playing hot potato." Aoi joked.

Kiyotaka blinked as he realized both Aoi and Sakura were awake.

"My apologizes, did we wake you?" Kiyotaka asked.

"Don't worry, we were bound to get up eventually." Aoi said as she lazily stretched her arms into the air. "The hospital bed here isn't comfortable at all."

"Least you weren't stuck on the fu... Freaking couch." Mondo said, narrowly avoiding another lecture about swearing around Midori.

"I believe it's safe to say we're all eager to get back to the comfort of our own beds." Sakura spoke, her voice still sounding worn out and exhausted. 

"How are you feeling?" Kiyotaka asked. 

"Still sore and tired, but do not fret. I tend to bounce back from pain quite fast." Of course, only Sakura would say that after giving birth a day ago. "More importantly, how is she doing?"

Kiyotaka smiled as soon as he looked at Midori, who was once again back in his arms. "Amazing, she's just perfect." he watched as Midori shifted slightly in his arms. 

"You know, I find most babies are pretty ugly when their born. But she's really cute!" Aoi gushed. 

"Isn't she?" Of course she's adorable! Midori took after his handsome husband after all! "I'm so happy right now, I can't even put it into words."

"Same, though I will be happier once we finally get her home. I hate hospitals." Mondo complained. "When are we checking out of this place?"

"Should be sometime this afternoon." he smiled and nuzzled Midori's head. He couldn't wait to get her home and show Midori the crib Mondo had built just for her.

....

Yasuhiro arrived first, rather relieving actually. The atmosphere would had just been too awkward and uncomfortable with Byakuya around. 

"Finally, took me forever to find your room." he announced as he made his way in. "I won't go into detail, but it made for quite a few awkward moments." he chuckled dryly before his eyes laid on the sleeping baby girl. "Ah, so this must be Midori? The one you two been flooding my social media account with pictures of?" he mused and loomed over the infant. "Wow, I knew she looked like a mini Mondo from the photos. But she looks even more like you in person!" 

"You think so?" Mondo smiled, tempted to pick up Midori again, but all the passing around between him, Taka, Aoi, and Sakura just left Midori tuckered out.

"How could I not?" he grinned. "Oh yeah, I got you something!" Hiro dug into the pocket of his pants and handed Mondo a pale pink rock. Instantly Mondo's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. 

"Is this a rock?" he asked.

"Correction, a gem! Rose quartz to be specific!" Hiro informed.

"So a rock?"

"It's called crystal healing!" Hiro explained. "Rose quartz is great for kids!"

"It's a choking hazard. That's what it is." Kiyotaka huffed. 

"Well.... maybe give it to her when she's older?" Hiro suggested with an awkward shrug. 

Some rock was definitely a lot more normal than the usual stuff Hiro had given them before. 

"Ah... yeah, we could do that." Mondo replied, deciding against saying anything else about the stupid rock and just accept it. Meh, maybe Midori would like the colour and want it made into a necklace or some other kind of jewelry. 

"Oh, I also figured I could give her a reading." Hiro mused. 

Personally Mondo didn't believe all that fortunetelling crap, but he saw no harm in it. And part of him couldn't help but be curious about what Hiro would say about Midori. Assuming it wasn't something outrageous like alien adduction.

"Go ahead." Mondo said just as the door to their hospital room opened again, fallowed by a intoxicating sweet smell.

There stood Byakuya, looking as unapproachable as ever. How could Toko put up with the prick? Why was it only he and Hiro out of all their friends could visit?

Byakuya didn't even bother with a proper greeting and instead placed a large bag on thectable.

"Gee, nice to see you too." Mondo rolled his eyes.

"Hiro insisted I bring something for breakfast for you all." he said, taking a brief moment to adjust his glasses. 

"Well duh! Hospital food sucks!" Hiro mused as Byakuya went about distributing containers to everyone, aside Hiro. "Hey! What the fuck man?!"

"No swearing in front of Midori!" Kiyotaka warned loudly.

"You really think I couldn't see through your plans to get a free meal off of me?" Byakuya scoffed. 

Hiro pouted just as Mondo opened the container and was happily greeted by the sight of chocolate and strawberry filled crepes. 

"Whatever, you're just in time for Midori's first milestone!" Hiro announced. "Baby's first reading!"

"Please leave me out of your tomfoolery." he frowned.

"Oh no, you definitely want to hear what I saw!" he mused. 

Mondo's mouth was too full of his breakfast to ask, instead he solely focused on Hiro. 

"Very well then, humour me." Byakuya scoffed and crossed his arms. 

"Well, Akira and Midori definitely seem to be getting up to interesting things." he informed.

Interesting?! Mondo choked on the mixture of strawberry and chocolate. Yasuhiro better not be implying what he thought he was implying. "The fuck you mean interesting things?!" he demanded.

"Mondo, language!" Kiyotaka hissed.

"Over my dead body am I gonna be in-laws with this son of a bitch!" Mondo spat, glaring daggers at Byakuya. 

"For once it appears we agree on something." Byakuya said, glaring back. "As if my son would get involved with the likes of you."

"Nah man, ain't nothing like that." Yasuhiro quickly reassured before things escalated. "More like she gives him a tattoo with a machine she made with stuff she found in a junkyard."

Mondo instantly felt relieved at that. Wait, why was he so worked up? Only a thirty percent chance this fucker's predictions were right. And besides, he never believed that junk... 

"Tattoos?!" Kiyotaka gasped in horror. "That's even worst!" he looked over at the hospital bassinet, in there Midori rested. Blissfully unaware of the mayhem going on right now. "If she gives tattoos does that mean she has a few?! Why is she in a junkyard?! Those places are disgusting and germ ridden!" he glanced back at Hiro, panic stricken. "Is she gonna have an undercut and piercings too?! Please don't tell me she smokes!" 

"Uhh... I think that's enough for now, wouldn't want to spoil anything for you two." Hiro chuckled nervously. "Anyway I should be going. I know it's a short visit but I got a long list of clients today. Congrats on the kid, sure she'll do great with you two!" Hiro waved before leaving in a hurry. Clearly wanting to get out of there before Kiyotaka could hound him with more questions.

"Oh! Speaking of leaving, I just realized something." Kiyotaka said. "The car ride home might be a little cramped."

Huh? Oh yeah, all the space in the car would officially be filled up. Fuck, that was going to feel weird.

"I can simply take a bus." Sakura reassured.

"Sakura, I can't live with myself if I let the woman who spent nine months and a week carrying me and my husband's daughter, hours in labor, and then proceeded to push her out without any kind of drugs take a bus back home." Mondo argued.

"I told you we should had saved up for a mini van." Kiyotaka reminded with an annoyed huff.

"Like hel-heck, I'm gonna be seen in one of those!" Mondo argued again. "For starters their dorky looking, and secondly those are only for if you got a hoard of kids! Last time I've checked we only got one so far!" he gestured to Midori. "So no need for one!"

"But their spacious and-"

"I'll just provide transportation for Aoi and Sakura." Byakuya butted in. "I can only take so much of your insufferable bickering. They can simply take a limousine back to their places."

"A limousine?!" Aoi's eyes sparkled at the mention of traveling in such a vehicle. 

"But of course, it's how I got here myself after all." Byakuya replied. "Just inform me of the time you leave and where you live and I can arrange for transportation."

"Oh, I'm going back home with Sakura of course!" Aoi stated. "Someone needs to take care of her while she recovers!"

"Aoi, that isn't necessary." Sakura spoke up. "Nothing a bit of protein can't help."

"Yes, it is necessary." Aoi argued. "You literally squeezed a seven pound adorable watermelon out of your body. Any sane person wouldn't leave you on your own!"

"Very well." Sakura agreed, defeated. "If you insist on spending more time at my place then so be it." she chuckled. "And I can't say no to spending time more time with you."

"Now just remember that uhh..." Mondo watched as Kiyotaka made the effort to go over to Midori and cover her ears as his pale cheeks flushed red. "Intercourse i-isn't permitted for six weeks after birth." Mondo didn't know whether to groan in second hand embarrassment or laugh. "Although... That's mainly along the lines of p-penetration. So... uhh, you know." he stuttered. 

"Jesus Christ, Taka!" Mondo groaned, feeling the second hand embarrassment of everyone in the room at that moment. Especially Aoi, who had her hands covering her face to hide how red her cheeks went.

"It is best to keep them medically informed!" Kiyotaka argued.

"Taka, I was already aware of the circumstances that would happen after the delivery." Sakura cleared her throat. "So you... could had saved yourself the embarrassment."

"Oh... My bad..."

"I'm going to leave before I am subjected to anymore of your stupidity." Byakuya said with a scowl. "You know my number, call and I'll have the arrangements for transportation at your disposal."

....

After what seemed like forever, they soon got the last exam on Midori and Sakura. After the two of them were confirmed to be in good health, they were given the right to leave. Just like Byakuya said, he had made arrangements for Sakura and Aoi to leave by limousine, leaving just Kiyotaka, Midori, and Mondo.

Kiyotaka wished they could had gotten a ride with Sakura and Aoi, that way he could be in the back with Midori. But he was the more responsible driver out of the two of them, it only made sense that he would be the one to drive home.

"Alright, I think we're good to go." Mondo announced after Kiyotaka and him kept going over the car seat Midori was in, making sure not a single thing was out of place to ensure Midori's safety on her ride home.

Kiyotaka nodded and made his way to the driver's seat, taking a brief moment to use the rearview mirror to look at Midori. In the safety of her car seat, clad in the pink little onesies. He couldn't help but smile, he was going to take his daughter home! When he finally did force himself to look away from her, he began to drove.

Aside from an emergency diaper change and feeding in a convenience store parking lot, the ride was uneventful with occasional glances at Midori through the rear view mirror whenever they stopped at a red light. 

It wasn't long until they arrived home, even with Kiyotaka making sure to drive extra carefully (or slowly as his husband would put it.) but here they were. The moment they been waiting years for has finally come. A smile once again formed on Kiyotaka's face as he glanced at Midori yet again. Her lilac eyes fluttering opened as they made they're way inside.

"Welcome home, Midori."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My seasonal job ended so hopefully I'll be able to update faster!

It was completely something else. It seemed so much like a dream, at least until Midori snapped them back into reality when she required to be fed or needed to be changed at ungodly hours in the night. And of course both Kiyotaka and Mondo were wrapped around her small finger, dropping everything to tend to whatever it was their daughter needed. 

Mondo let out a yawn as he watched Midori drink her bottle, now roughly five in the morning and as usual his daughter couldn't had cared less about her fathers need for sleep. 

"Now if only you slept as good as you ate..." Mondo complained, ever so carefully shifting on the couch so he could be more comfortable, eyes locked onto her as he half listened to the program on tv. Too wrapped up in Midori to care about the plot of the show. 

"Coffee?" Mondo looked away from the bundle to see Kiyotaka, holding two large mugs of coffee.

"Of course." caffeine had became his lord and saviour since he kissed his days of a goodnight sleep away. 

Once Midori's bottle was empty and the infant was burped, Mondo accepted the cup of coffee and drank deeply.

"Lots of sugar and cream, just the way you like it." Kiyotaka said, looking at Midori in Mondo's arms. 

"You don't gotta be up with me whenever it's my turn to get up and take care of her." Mondo reassured.

"No, I want to." Kiyotaka said, sitting down next to him.

"I still can't believe she's finally here..." Kiyotaka said. "To think she was once in a little petri dish, now she's finally with us." he reached over and stroked Midori's head. "She has so much hair, just like you." he chuckled lightly.

"You know, once I learned we were having a girl... I expected her to be yours." Mondo confessed, watching his husband's surprised expression. "Men run on my side of the family." he explained. "Honestly the only reason I think my mom ever bothered having me was because she wanted a girl. She probably would had been happier with a house full of daughters instead of just two sons..." 

"Mondo... that's the first time I ever heard you talk about your mother." Kiyotaka pointed out.

"Huh... I guess so." he just realized that himself. 

"What... what were your parents like?" Kiyotaka asked, caustically watching him as if he was a ticking time bomb.

Mondo knew this question was coming up sooner or later. He had been grateful his husband wasn't flooring him with questions all the time, in fact he never did since the issue came up. "Gee... Where do I start?" he thought aloud.

"Well... What about your father?" his husband asked. "I haven't heard anything about him."

"That's probably because you know about as much as I do about the man." Mondo said with a careless shrug. "I was two when he left my mom for another woman... So I don't remember much. Just that he was one of those stereotypical sleazy bastard who spend too much time and money at the bar and with hookers than at home. At least that's what Daiya always told me." he explained. "As for my mom it's a bit complicated."

"Complicated?" Kiyotaka asked. "How so?"

"She worked two jobs." Mondo said. "She was always so exhausted, so me and Daiya had to fend for ourselves a lot. It wasn't that she didn't care or anything... she was just spread pretty thin with both jobs. We were mostly left to our own devices." he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Actually I don't really remember much about her... Aside from her always telling me and my bro to respect women and if we ever laid our hands on our future wives she'll make hell look like a place for children." he forced a chuckle. Oh the irony of that... "I bet she would go nuts if she learned she had a granddaughter."

"Mondo, I know it's a lot to ask... but had you considered contacting her?" Kiyotaka suggested.

"I know... I know... She is Midori's grandma." he let out a loud sigh. "I get that I gotta face my demons at somepoint. And your probably sick of hearing my excuses, but I just wanna wait until we're more settled."

"No, I understand." his husband reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're both officially dads now. We got enough on our plate at the moment, though I do hate putting things off... I do see where you're coming from. And besides, we both agreed Midori is what is important now." he spoke. "For now let's focus on her."

"Thanks, man." Mondo said with a small smile on his face, leaning over to kiss Kiyotaka, only to have Midori let out a little cry when be was mere centimetres from his face. With a little chuckle Mondo returned his attention to her. "Yeah I hear you, daddy didn't forget about you." he said as he tried to console her, planting a gentle kiss on her head.

....

Fatherhood was coming naturally to the two of them, they spend such a long time fantasizing about having a family. It was a dream come true to finally live that fantasy at long last. Even if the fallowing weeks were filled with sleep deprivation, dirty diapers, spit up formula, neither Taka or Mondo would change a single thing.

Kiyotaka idly hummed as he went about getting Midori in her stroller. It had become part of the routine for him and Mondo to go for a little walk with Midori around the neighbourhood. 

"Excited to go out?" he asked in the bubbly high pitch tone he began to use once Midori was born. "I bet you arrrrrreeee!" he gushed just as Mondo returned, armed with the diaper bag.

"You got everything?" Kiyotaka asked. "Diapers, bottles, spare clothes?" he listed off.

"I packed everything but the kitchen sink." he replied and thrusted the bag at him. Which definitely was stuffed to the brim with everything a baby needed. "Check for yourself." he said before grinning at Midori in her stroller. "Ready to go out?" he cooed going on ahead and began to push the stroller onwards outside.

It was a perfect day for a stroll, not too hot, not too cold, just the right weather to take their daughter out in without worry of their little bundle getting cold or overheated.

He glanced at Mondo as he pushed the stroller, occasionally taking a moment to speak to Midori. Even if she couldn't talk yet, she definitely was a fantastic listener. And much more alert now that Kiyotaka and Mondo carefully eased her into a routine, though she still had her moments of causing her dads to run around like a chicken without its head whenever she decided to be unpredictable.

"Oh what a cutie!" an older woman who was walking her dog gushed. "What's her name?"

"Huh... oh... It's Midori." Mondo informed. "Her name's Midori,"

Kiyotaka couldn't help but grin as he watched Mondo. He recalled his husband once said something along the lines that even crying babies kept quiet whenever him or a member of the crazy diamonds strolled on by. Now here he was with a baby of his own, getting so much positive attention!

"Oh what a sweet name!" she gushed. "She looks exactly like you."

"Yeah, she does. Doesn't she?" Mondo replied, glancing at her.

"I always say the first borns looks like the father!" the woman mused brightly. "Happens to all the families I know! First born always resembles the dad instead of the mom."

Kiyotaka instantly felt his heart sank, of course... It wasn't uncommon for him to be mistaken as just Mondo's friend as opposed to husband. 

"Uhh... sure." Mondo replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Best of luck, she really is such a pretty little girl." she gushed a final time before leaving, walking off with her dog.

"Come on let's get going, I think it might rain or something..." another obvious lie from Mondo, Taka had already listened to the weather report ahead of time. But he decided against it, the last thing he wanted to do was cause a conflict in front of Midori. 

"Alright, I don't want her out in the rain." he agreed.

The uncomfortable silence between them lingered between them for a few minutes. This wasn't the first time Mondo was mistaken as the sole father of Midori, realistically speaking he and his husband were the minority. Even if their group of friends made them feel like they weren't considering many of them were queer themselves. He was well aware of that, Kiyotaka was used to being seen as Mondo's friend, and coming out to complete strangers could potentially be dangerous. But the case with him and Mondo officially being fathers it felt so different. Was he jealous? Maybe jealous wasn't the right word... he was proud to have a child with Mondo and have her be the splitting image of him. So why did this situation feel so much different than before?

"You feeling alright?" his husband asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Yes, just a little lost in thought." he replied.

"Dude, come on. I know that look on your face." Mondo said, stopping dead in his tracks and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is it about what happened with that lady? It happened before to us..."

"Yes, I'm well aware it's nothing new for people like us to be seen as just friends at first." he began. "But with Midori in our life now... its different. I get why people assume you're the sole father, Midori already looks like a mini you. And she is yours in a biological sense after all..."

"So is this because she looks like m-"

"No!" Kiyotaka quickly cut him off. "I'm not jealous nor do I resent the fact she looks like you! I love that about her! Seeing she has the same eyes and dark hair as the man I love makes me feel over the moon!" not once would he allow Mondo to think that him being the biological father was a bad thing! "It's just..." he trailed off. 

"You feel left out?" Mondo asked. 

"I... I think that might be the right way of putting it. I'm far from a seeker of attention, I'm not expecting a red carpet rolled at my feet simply because I became a father." he held back a sigh.

"But you want some kind of recognition, don't you?"

"I suppose so... but not just for for myself. But I want others to know we're a family... becoming a father with you is the greatest thing that has happened to me, aside from meeting and marrying you of c-course! Forgive, I'm rambling..." he apologized. "This must sounds selfish of me."

"It's not! Don't even think for a second it is!" Mondo firmly and of course loudly reassured. "I get where you're coming from... I think." he shrugged. "Look, chances are we're never see that lady again and..." he stopped himself before letting out an annoyed sigh as he made the effort to cover Midori's ears. "What I'm trying to say is, who fucking cares? WE know she's ours, our friends know we're her dads! Don't think too hard on it, those fuckers don't matter!" 

A smile crept on Kiyotaka's face. Mondo was right 'those fuckers' as his husband ever so crudely put it weren't a part of their circle of friends, they weren't the one he was married too. "Thank you, I needed to hear that."

"Besides... I mean we did agree if we went the surrogate route that the first kid's biological father would be a surprise, second one would be whoever wasn't the biological dad was... so there's that in the future..." he said, removing his hands from Midori's ears. "And once she starts talking she probably won't stop calling us 'dada' once she learns how, especially if she's already got quite a set of lungs on her!" he joked. "Bet she won't shut up once she does." he put an arm around Kiyotaka and pulled him into a little side hug. 

"She does take after you after all." Kiyotaka mused. "Speaking of which lets get her home. It's nearly time for her bottle and I much rather do it at home than out on the streets."


	20. Chapter 20

"Leon, it's splendid to see you!" Kiyotaka greeted after he opened the front door, revealing none other than Leon. 

"Hey, great to see you again too." Leon mused and held up a plastic grocery bag. "Got what you asked for by the way."

"Ah, thank you. I'm terribly sorry for asking this of you... Mondo had a dentist appointment and Midori's been fussy all day, I don't think we would had survived a trip to the grocery store." Kiyotaka apologized, he was unfortunately learning the hard way that infants didn't care about what you planned for the day. "How much do I owe you?" he asked, gesturing for Leon to come inside.

"Nah, don't sweat it." Leon reassured as he stepped inside, going straight towards the kitchen and placing the bag on the counter. "I know how babies can be." he spoke as Kiyotaka went about putting away the few groceries he requested Leon to pick up. It wasn't too much that they needed, coffee filters, butter, and milk. But Midori wouldn't last for even the briefest of trips at the moment. “Speaking of which how is the little bugger?”

“Bit fussy today like I said.” Kiyotaka couldn’t help but grin, any chance to talk about his beloved daughter always made him so giddy. “But she should be in a better mood after her nap.” he took a brief moment to look at his watch. “Which she should probably be waking up now.” without hesitation he immediately went about doing up a bottle for Midori. She was always hungry after a nap, more proof she was taking after Mondo. 

“Actually, that’s kind of something I wanted to ask you about.” Leon began just as Kiyotaka was warming up the bottle. “You and Mondo are pretty busy now that you got Midori, right?” 

“Correct. But we aren’t complaining, we knew what we were getting into when we decided to have a child.” Kiyotaka confirmed. “And besides, time spent with my daughter is time well spent in my opinion!” which just result in an annoyed little pout from Leon.

“About that...” Leon began. “Do you think maybe... You could lend me Midori for a couple hours?”

“Lend you her?!” he repeated, completely floored by the odd request. Sure he and his husband had gotten offers by their friends to babysit, but the way Leon phased it sounded so off.

“Dude, women and even some guys loves babies.” Leon said. “I see them giving single dads so much attention. If I could just borrow Midori for a couple hours, score some numbers, maybe lie and say she’s mine, you know?”

“Absolutely not!” Kiyotaka snapped. “Under no circumstances will you be using my daughter as a trick to try to seduce people!”

“Dude, it would only be for a few hours!” he argued just as Kiyotaka went about testing the temperature of the formula. “You let Chihiro take her out!”

“Chihiro actually took child development in school.” Kiyotaka pointed out. “And not skip it like a certain someone.”

“Taka, come on!” Leon begged. “I’m good with kids!”

“Very well then, we’re see about that.”

And with that being said, Kiyotaka left the kitchen, heading straight to the nursery. As expected, Midori was up. Her little lilac eyes fluttered as they darted around the room as she began to squirm, letting out a soft little whimper.

“Had a good sleep?” he asked as he scooped up the infant. She seemed far less fussy now that she napped, once Midori got her bottle she would probably be perfectly content again. “Come on, let’s go prove a point to Leon.” Taka mused and pressed a soft little kiss on her cheek before returning back to the kitchen. 

“Sweet, you’re gonna let me borrow her?” Leon asked, face broken in a victorious grin.

“Hold her.” Kiyotaka ordered.

“Uhh...What?” 

“Go on, hold her.” he urged. “You said you were good with kids.” 

“Ye-yeah, I am!” Leon confirmed and allowed Kiyotaka to slowly ease the infant into his arms. “See? I got this.” No, Leon absolutely did not. He was more tense than a high school student who neglected to study for an important test. “Hey look, she’s smiling!”

“That’s the face she makes when she has gas.” Kiyotaka informed, watching the colour drain from Leon’s face as he then held Midori at arms length. Said infant began to whimper and squirm.

“Uhh, on second thought I think I’m good.” he responded, all too quickly passing Midori back to him.

Kiyotaka shook his head and fetched Midori her bottle, and as usual she steadily drank it. He watched as the formula worked it’s magic and soothed whatever crankiness that the infant had leftover.

“Read up on child care, then we’re discuss the matter of you babysitting my daughter.” he lectured, unable to help but smirk.

....

“Hey, did I ever tell you how much I hate laundry?” Mondo huffed as he folded another set of onesies. 

“Only every time ask you to do laundry.” Kiyotaka replied, folding one as well. 

“To be fair, you don’t ask me to do it often.”

“Because the last time you forgot to separate the reds and whites.” Kiyotaka reminded, shaking his head. 

After Mondo’s misadventures in laundry, Kiyotaka decided to be the one to solely do laundry. But with the recent arrival of Midori and the many stained and soiled clothing she brought along with her, the amount of laundry he had to do seemed to triple. Refusing to allow their home to be consumed in a mountain of dirty clothes, he had little choice but to enlist the help of his husband... although he made sure to keep a VERY close eye on him to avoid his best white shirts becoming pink again.

“That was ONE time.” Mondo defended, taking a moment to glance at Midori, who was in her bassinet, peacefully napping. 

“And the whole reason I had to buy another set of shirts.” he said. 

“I call bullshit, they were getting worn out anyway.” Mondo argued. “I did you a favour.”

“Language!” Kiyotaka scolded in a loud whisper. “Midori is literally with us!”

“She’s asleep for crying out loud!” 

“She’s still in the room!” 

Mondo let out a loud sigh and tried to go about trying to match up the many tiny socks for Midori.

“How can someone so freaking small make so much laundry?” he complained. “That’s the real question. It’s like we do one pile of laundry and three more piles of dirty clothes appear!” he let out an annoyed sigh. “No wonder babies are cute, gotta be able to get away with having us endure late night feedings and laundry somehow.”

“Speaking of which, we need more fabric softener.” Kiyotaka reminded. He refused to have his daughter in anything but the softest clothes and blankets for her sensitive skin. 

“I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” Mondo offered. “Gotta get gas for the car anyway, I can get it on the way. And before you ask, yes, I already know the exact brand to get.” he leaned back and set another pair of socks aside. “So... Taka?”

“Yes, What is it?” Kiyotaka asked.

“Remember I told you I was going to get in touch with an old gang member?” 

Yes I do!” Kiyotaka responded. Of course he did! How could Taka forget such an important event in his husband’s life? 

“Yeah, I figured you would. You got the memory of a freaking elephant.” Mondo replied with a forced chuckle. “So... we been exchanging text messages, phone calls, that sort of thing, but not actually face to face. It’s kind of been bugging me, so I sort of invited him over.” he explained. “You know... to meet you and Midori.” Instantly Kiyotaka’s eyes widen. Inviting someone from his past to meet him and Midori?! “I probably should had asked first, sor-“

“Don’t apologize!” Kiyotaka instantly flung himself at his husband, knocking out a pile of folded laundry in the process. 

“Shi- shoot man, you don’t gotta get all emotional on me.” Mondo said, once again narrowly missing another lecture on swearing.

“How could I not be?!” Kiyotaka exclaimed. “I’m meeting someone who’s a part of your life, I feel so honoured! I’m so proud of you, taking such a big step forward!”

“Are you my husband or a self help book?” Mondo huffed before he let out a sigh. “Never mind, I’m sounding ungrateful...” he muttered just as Kiyotaka finally gave him some space. “He isn’t my mom or big bro... but he’s the first guy I’ve been talking to since this whole thing came up. I figured I might as well invite him...”

“When is he coming over? He could join us for dinner if you wanted too?” Kiyotaka offered.

“I invited him over this Sunday afternoon. We really don’t gotta do much, maybe just order a pizza or something?” he shrugged. “I just want to keep it causal, don’t think either of us will survive a big dinner production. Plus Takemichi doesn’t like people fussing too much over him.”

“Understood.” Kiyotaka nodded. “I look forward to meeting him!”

“Yeah, I think you’re like him... by the way...” Mondo gestured to the pile of clothes Kiyotaka had carelessly knocked over. “I just folded those, and I’m sure as heck not gonna fold them again.”

...

Sunday came much faster than Mondo had anticipated. It was just like he blinked and time flew by. But surprisingly enough it was counting down the last few minutes until Takemichi arrived that felt like an eternity. His attempts at killing time were all in vain. Watching tv, browsing the internet, nothing worked! Every time Mondo took a glance at the clock hardly any time passed. Normally if he wanted to waste time he would hop on his bike and go for a ride. But he didn’t have that luxury at the moment. He needed to only kill a couple minutes, not the whole goddamn day! 

The sound of the door bell ringing instantly caused Mondo to leap off the couch and race to the front door. Takemichi was finally fucking here! Early too! Thank god for that, it didn’t take a goddamn rocket scientist to know Mondo was never a patient man.

“Bout time, you got-“ Mondo stopped himself upon opening the door. Instead of Takemichi standing before him, there stood Yasuhiro.

“Thank god you’re home!” Hiro greeted.

“Hiro? What the fuck are you doing here?!” It wasn’t like he hated seeing him, but now was seriously not the time for his bullshit!

“We gotta talk about the future!” Hiro blurted out.

“Hiro, I’m not in the mood for whatever nonsense you’re gonna spew.” he warned through gritting teeth.

“It’s super important! So important I’m only gonna charge you half of what I normally charge for a reading.” he spoke. “You can just pay me with what you got saved up for Midori’s college fund.” 

“Leave my daughter out of this nonsense!” he hissed.

“That’s what this is about! I had a vision that involved her and I came rushing over!” not at all put off my the scowl on Mondo’s face, he then proceeded to cup Mondo’s face as a serious expression came over his own face, “We gotta think of our grandkids.”

“Grandkids?!” Mondo repeated back, pushing Hiro away with enough force to almost knock him over. “The hell are you going on about?!”

“We gotta make sure me, you, and Byauaka’s grandkids are raised in a happy and loving environment despite our different backgrounds.” he informed. 

“Byauaka? What the fuck does he have to do with anything of this?!” honestly, it should be illegal for Hiro to speak.

“We need to support our kids and their possibly poly relationship!” he stated. “The fate of our grandkids rests on it!”

Mondo groaned, this was all too familiar... 

“First off, you once had a prediction that you and Makoto would have kids with the same woman.” he reminded.

“Yeah, and?”

“Makoto is gay!” he reminded with another hiss. “And secondly you don’t even have a kid!”

“Yet... or that I know of...” Hiro replied and rubbed his chin in thought. 

“Hiro, for the love of god please don’t procreate.” he warned.

“Can’t, it’s already been decided.” he declared. “Thirty percent chance I’m right on this.”

“Yasuhiro, please just fucking leave...” he more or less begged. He did not need this kind of nonsense right now.

“Alright, I gotta go tell Byauaka anyway.” and with that he took off. 

Mondo tiredly sighed and leaned against the doorframe. What on earth was Hiro going to forcibly tell him next? 

“Mondo?” He nearly leapt out of his skin upon hearing that all too familiar voice. 

Takemichi looked a bit older, taller (though not much), short pale hair a lot less unkempt, but his usual stern expression on his face brought back so many memories of him riding about Japan with the rest of the Crazy Diamonds with Takemichi as his right hand man, always there to keep him from fucking things up... well more than usual.

“Fuck, you still keep your hair styled like that?” Takemichi commented. 

“Yeah... sort of my thing.” Mondo forced out a short and dry chuckle. “Uhh... you’re early?”

“Sorry about that, I don’t often come to this part of town.” he apologized. “I figured I would get lost at some point.”

“Don’t apologize, come on in...” Mondo said. This felt so goddamn awkward! Sure they occasionally exchanged text messages, but seeing Takemichi after all these years in the flesh made his stomach form knots. 

“Nice place.” Takemichi complimented as soon as he entered.

“Thanks. It was a bit of a fixer upper when me and my husband got it. I had to break down a fucking wall to get the living room as big as it is!”;he mused, recalling how much work, blood, sweat, and tears it took to redo the house to transform it into a little old rundown house, to his and his husband’s dream home. 

“Bet that must had been a blast for you.” Takemichi grinned.

Mondo didn’t even get the chance to respond, soon as the front door shut Kiyotaka speed walked right up to him, a gurgling little Midori strapped to his chest. Oh boy, originally Mondo was planning to slowly ease the introductions of his new family upon Takemichi. 

“Ah, you must be Takemichi Yukimaru!” he greeted loudly, immediately taking Takemichi’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “I’m Kiyotaka Ishimaru! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

Poor Takemichi definitely seemed taken back by the sudden unannounced appearance by his husband. But because it was so sudden, definitely not because Kiyotaka was just as loud as Mondo was. He knew Takemichi, he was used to loudness.

“Ah, Yeah... Nice to meet you as well, Ishimaru.” he greeted back.

“Just call me Taka!” he informed, finally letting go of his hand. “Might I offer you a drink?”

“Coffee would be great if you have any.” Takemichi replied.

“We do! But it isn’t decaf, is that alright? I’ll be more than happy to drive to the store and buy decaf if that’s what you want.” he offered.

“No, that’s fine. I’m no stranger to caffeine.” he joked lightly.

“Ha! Neither are we! I’ll go prepare a pot!” Kiyotaka announced and went to the kitchen.

“So that’s your husband?” Mondo nodded. “He seems like a good guy.” Takemichi commented.

“He is, isn’t he?” Mondo said, leaning against the wall. “Don’t know what I did to deserve him...”

“And I take it the baby on his chest is your daughter? Less you two are running a daycare in your basement?” another nod.

“Yup, that’s Midori.” Mondo replied. 

“She looks just like you.” Takemichi commented. 

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Mondo chuckled. “And I never get tired of hearing it. Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

After a quick tour around the house and sharing a few tales of his misadventures in renovation, both of them were on the couch in the living room just as Kiyotaka returned with Takemichi’s mug of coffee.

“Do you want any sugar or cream?” Kiyotaka offered.

“Nah, I’m good. I always take my coffee black, never been big on the customizing thing.” he replied. “Complete opposite of Mondo, unless you’re taste changed over the years?”

“Of course not. Tea and coffee need that shi- stuff. Otherwise you’re just drinking wet leaves and beans.” Mondo argued. 

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask... who was the dude who just left?” Takemichi asked. “The one with the the dreadlocks?”

“Oh, Yasuhiro came over?” Kiyotaka blinked and looked at Mondo.

“Ah, yeah... he was rambling on about the usual fortune telling nonsense.” Mondo informed before glancing at Takemichi. “He’s a friend of ours.” he explained.

“Did you meet him at Hope’s Peak?” Takemichi inquired. 

“Yeah, same with Taka and the majority of friends I have now.” he said. 

“So you two were high school sweethearts then?”

“Cheesy, I know.” Mondo said. “Me of all people, marrying my high school sweetheart, getting a house, and having a kid. If you would had told me that was going to be my future I would had called you crazy.” he joked.

Takemichi laughed along and took a moment to glance at Midori, who Kiyotaka was just getting her out of the harness he wore in order to be with their daughter and do housework.

“I still can’t get over the fact you have a kid now.” Takemichi stated as he glanced at Midori. “Seems like just yesterday you were speeding away from the police on your bike, now look at you.”

“Speaking of which, mind taking her?” Kiyotaka asked. “I think she wants to see her other father now.” 

“Course.” he wasn’t even capable of trying not to smile with that offer as he got off the couch. “You been hogging her all day.” he complained as he lifted her out of his husband’s arms, his smile growing bigger as he felt the weight of Midori in his arms. According to all the books and websites she was meeting each milestone, cooing, reaching out for things, and flashing an adorable toothless smile. “Bout time daddy gets to finally hold you. You’re other dad’s been keeping you to himself all day long.” he spoke in a higher pitch than he normally wouldn’t dare do back when he was younger. “Now it’s my turn.” he cooed and flopped back on the couch next to Takemichi with Midori in his arms once again.

“You really had changed.” Takemichi commented. “Never in a million years would I had pictured you as a family man.”

“Me either.” Mondo said, letting Midori reach out and grab at his knuckle. “But it just feels so freaking right...” he glanced at Takemichi. “You want to hold her?”

“Uhh...” Takemichi blinked. “You sure?”

“Look, man, if me of all people can hold her, so can you.” he urged.

“Good point I suppose.” Takemichi nodded. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Though I make no promises that Midori is not going to cry.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Mondo rolled his eyes and began to carefully place Midori into Takemichi’s arms, making sure he positioned his arms and hands to properly support her neck. “There, was that so hard?”

Mondo watched his old friend and new daughter, her little violet eyes meeting with his as she gurgled and gave Takemichi one of her happy toothless smiles. 

“Awww, she’s smiling.” Takemichi gushed upon having his heart instantly melted by Midori.

“See? She likes you!” Kiyotaka pipped in. 

“Heh, guess so.” he chuckled, letting Midori reach out and grab his fingers. “Daiya would go nuts if he got to meet her.”

In a split second the atmosphere had gone from homey and happy, to so tensed and dreadful. The knots in Mondo’s stomach that he had forgotten about began to twist and turn, tightening to unimaginable lengths at the mention of his comatose brother. Takemichi Instantly caught onto the atmosphere he had unintentionally created, he tensed.

“Shoot... sorry...” he quickly apologized. 

“Takemichi, I know you.” Mondo stated. “Don’t lie, it’s been on your mind since I told you about Midori... I don’t blame you. I’ve been thinking the same thing. Don’t apologize, it’s all on our minds.” A long pause fell between them, only sound came from Midori’s as she kept her iron grip on Takemichi’s finger. The knots in his stomach were getting worst and worst, he felt sick, and the lump in his throat weren’t helping with that matter. “Daiya probably would had spoiled the shi- crap out of her...” he finally decided to say. It was completely strange to talk so openly about his big brother. “Uncles do that, right? Daiya definitely would had.” he said aloud, leaning his head back against the couch to use the ceiling as a focal point to avoid eye contact. Fuck...he was a goddamn mess... 

“Had you thought about... you know, visiting him?” Takemichi carefully suggested.

Mondo sighed, Takemichi was bound to bring it up at some point...

“I wouldn’t even know where to start...” he groaned. Quite frankly Mondo didn’t quite get the whole talking to a person who had no way of communicating back... least until it happened to him. “Hospitals already make me feel like shi- crap. Don’t think that and years of guilt mix well. But I know I can’t be a coward about this...”

“I’m sorry, but did you say hospital?” Takemichi asked.

“Er... yeah, I did.” Mondo replied, looking at Takemichi who’s face was plastered with a bemused expression. 

“I may had done some investigating on the subject of Daiya.” Kiyotaka confessed. “The online forums I looked into all said he was comatose to this very day.”

“And you believed them all?” Takemichi questioned. 

“The what the fuc- heck are you getting at?” Mondo inquired. 

“You don’t know?” Takemichi shook his head. “What am I saying? Given your reactions you clearly don’t.”

“Know what?!” Mondo demanded. What the fuck was Takemichi getting at?!

“Do you two really believe that he’s been comatose for years.” Takemichi pointed out. “That’s just some rumour between other gangs that got popular. This isn’t some kind of tv show or cheesy movie.”

“You mean he’s...dead?” Mondo’s face drain of colour at the very thought. The thought of visiting his brother at the hospital was more than enough to fill him with enough guilt and dread to last a lifetime. But visiting his brother’s grave was a million times worst! 

“No! Daiya ain’t dead.” Takemichi quickly clarified. 

Both he and his husband instantly let out a sigh of relief, at least until Mondo realized something. If Daiya wasn’t in a coma and if he wasn’t dead... there was only one possible outcome. 

“Wait... are you telling me-“

“Mondo, he woke up from his coma years ago. Three days after you left the gang to go to Hope’s Peak to be exact.” he informed. “In other words, you’re brother is very much awake and alive.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, their is a brief part in the story about an controlling relationship.

“Don’t wear white, it’s too virginal.” Celeste lectured, browsing through Sakura’s closet, leaving no hanger unchecked. 

“Virginal?” Sakura repeated. “Why would that even matter?”

“Trust me dear, I’m a professional.” she defended with a careless yet somehow elegant wave of her hand, that only she could manage. 

“Celeste, when I requested a bit of help getting ready for tonight, this wasn’t what I had in mind.” Sakura fought the urge to sigh. Now that she was officially done her role as a surrogate, Aoi wanted to do something a bit more on the fancier side when it came to dating. They agreed on dinner at a restaurant. “I originally thought you were just going to give me suggestions through text or-“

“Got anything in ivory?” Celeste asked, paying no mind to Sakura.

“Isn’t that the same as white?” she inquired. Celestia let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head. “Judging by your reaction I’m guessing it’s not.” 

“No, it’s not.” Celeste confirmed, digging deeper and deeper through her belongings. “I must make arrangements for you to meet with my seamstress, how you gone so long without my help in formal wear is appalling.” she commented.

“I don’t get dressed up often.” Sakura informed. She also decided against pointing out she was not in the mood to dwell too long about her wardrobe. Even if she was recovering extremely well from the birth (she had her protein to thank for that) and her postpartum belly being hardly noticeable now, spending hours solely on her appearance was something Sakura never could understand. “My selection is rather limited.”

“I can tell.” Celeste frowned and shook her head. “Unfortunately we don’t have time to arrange a meeting with my seamstress or even go shopping.” she clicked her tongue and pulled out a black pantsuit. “Hmmmm... I do believe this one would work.” 

“I actually forgot I had that.” Sakura commented. “Nor do I remember the last time I wore it.”

“With a red shirt under the blazer, it would be quite the striking outfit.” Celeste mused, finally satisfied at long last. “Red really is your colour.” she hummed, pulling out a red long sleeved shirt as well as a pair of flats. “We’re finally done in the clothing department.” Celeste announced as she laid out the clothing on Sakura’s bed for her. “Now as far as hair and makeup goes.”

“Any makeup used in attempting to hide my scars won’t be necessary.” Sakura informed. “Aoi finds them rather attractive.”

Celestia smirked. “Normally I would push for some coverage, but I suppose with a compliment like that from your lover it’s hopeless for me to compete.” she mused. “Now, let’s get started on the hair. Some sort of bun would be most suitable, perhaps a low textured bun with twisted sides?” she thought aloud and nodded to herself. “Yes, it would definitely be perfect for the occasion.” 

After finding Sakura’s hairbrush and digging through her purse for bobby pins and hair elastics, Celestia began to work her magic. 

“I expect to be told each and every detail afterwards.” Celeste said as she brushed through Sakura’s hair.

“Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to request anything less.” she replied.

“You hardly have any room to blame me. You’re the only woman among us with an love life that’s interesting now.” Celeste pointed out.

“Surely not. Toko is the only married woman among us.” she reminded.

“Please note, I said interesting. If I desired to hear Toko rambling endlessly about Byauaka I wouldn’t had brought this up.” she rolled her eyes.

“What about Chihiro?”

“Allow me to rephrase that. Interesting and existing love life.” Celeste stated.

“That’s harsh.” Sakura would had shook her head if Celeste wasn’t styling her hair. “And what of yourself?”

“I have yet to find someone who meets all of my standards.” she said. “I need a high ranked partner.” Celestia’s habit of ranking people was something Sakura could never wrap her head around. “So that just leaves you.”

“I understand I have a difficult time finding a girlfriend, but the rarity alone shouldn’t be all that fascinating.” Sakura said as Celeste handled a rather difficult knot.

“True, but it’s mostly the timing and events that are interesting.” she spoke. “Finding a partner while you were a surrogate, it’s like something from an easily forgettable movie or a terrible tv show. Therefore, you win for the most interesting love life among us.”

“I suppose that’s fair, given most people aren’t normally already pregnant when they meet their ideal partner. Let alone be a surrogate for their friends.” Sakura agreed, already being able to recall a few movies that had the rather similar situation or theme. 

“Indeed, now please hold still.” Celeste requested as she armed herself with a bobby pin. “I would hate to mess this up.”

....

“Sorry about the wait!” Aoi apologized as she made her way up to Sakura, who was waiting outside of her own car. “I was watching tv while I was waiting and lost track of time!”

“Don’t fret, it was only mere minutes.” she reassured, taking a moment to look at Aoi.

Her girlfriend looked astounding, although she always did. Dressed in a heather grey suit, with a blue shirt that was so light it could be easily mistaken as white, and her hair down instead of its signature little ponytail. 

“You look amazing!” they both said together before pausing and chuckling at how in sync they both were.

“Jinx!” Aoi laughed. 

“You really do look amazing.” Sakura complimented. “This is the first time I ever saw you with your hair down.”

“I no-normally keep it up... but tonight is special. Do you like it? If you do I could wear it down more often?” she offered, causing a small rosy pink blush to tinged her cheeks. “O-only of you wear your hair up more often...”

Sakura smiled. “You got yourself a deal.” she then opened the passenger seat for Aoi. “Shall we get going?” 

“Of course! I would hate to be late for the reservations we made!” Aoi eagerly nodded.

Sakura had only been to this restaurant once in her life, but she could never forget it. The dim lighting, the dark earthy colour scheme, and the candles at each and every table had that soft glow she loved ever so much. Once they were seated and served a bottle of white wine they agreed upon, Sakura took a sip straight away.

“My first sip of alcohol in nearly a year...” she commented. Sakura was never much of a drinker to begin with, but now with Midori born and her role as a surrogate finally over, everything she couldn’t eat or drink such as alcohol, sushi, coffee, just seemed to more desirable and delicious than before she ever got pregnant. “I almost feel bad.”

“Just don’t drink too much.” Aoi giggled. “I can’t drive a stick shift.”

“I make no promises.” she joked and browse the menu.

“Had you been here before?” Aoi asked.

“Once with a few friends for my birthday.” Sakura replied, flipping through the menu.

“What’s good here? I can’t make up my mind.” she stated.

“The duck a l'orange is good.” she replied. “I’ll probably order it again.”

“I think I’ll order the same then.” Aoi closed her menu and set it aside, Sakura fallowed. “This place feels so fancy! It’s like we could bump into a celebrity here or so-“

“No fucking way!” a shrill little voiced gasped. “Oh my gosh, Sakura?! Is that you?!”

Sakura nearly flinched upon hearing that all too familiar voice, she daringly turned around and there she stood. Sakura could recognize those big blue eyes and blond hair anywhere. 

Aoi’s own big eyes widen as she looked at the woman behind her then back to Sakura. “No way...” she quietly gasped. “You know Junko Enoshima!?”

“She sure does!” Junko mused proudly and pulled up a seat right next to Sakura before she put an arm around her. “Damn girl, it’s been forever!” she laughed. “How Long has it been?”

Not long enough. “A few years I believe.” Sakura stoically responded, her lips a straight line.

“Has it really been that long?! Seems like just yesterday we were in high school together!” Junko squealed and looked at Aoi. “Ohhhh, who’s this?”

“Oh! I’m A-Aoi Asahina...” she stuttered. “It’s really ni-nice to meet you, Enoshima.”

“Oh don’t be so formal! I get enough of that shit on the job, please just call me by my first name.” she grinned. “Speaking of which, might I do the same?”

“Of course!” Aoi nodded eagerly.

“Had you two reached a decision?” their waiter asked. 

“Y-yes, two orders of duck a l'orange.” Sakura managed to speak up.

“Make it three!” Junko added in. “Wouldn’t want to be the odd one out of the group!” 

The waiter gave a quick nod before walking off.

“Sooooo, I haven’t seen you since high school, what have you been doing?” Junko asked, stealing Sakura’s glass of wine and taking a big swing.

“Nothing all that exciti-“ 

“She had a baby!” Aoi yelled out.

“Really?!” Junko’s eyes widen as she stared at Sakura.

“I was a surrogate for my friends, remember Mondo and Kiyotaka?” she inquired. 

“Wow, their STILL together?” Junko asked as Sakura confirmed it with a nod.

“Married with a daughter.” Sakura explained, wishing she had her glass back to keep her hands busy. 

“Seriously? I didn’t think they would last.” Junko explained and took another swing. “Oh well, guess we’re really see about that.” she grinned. 

It wasn’t long before Junko and Aoi were chatting away like they were lifelong friends, both cracking jokes and sharing tales. It wasn’t like Sakura minded, as unplanned as it was... but with all people, it had to be her? Perhaps she was being too quick to judge? It had been many years, maybe Junko could redeem herself and-

There it was, that familiar little touch that Junko had. Not a warm or tender one, but a toxic and sharp one, and that little feeling was resting on the curve of her thigh. That did it for Sakura, she sprang up from her seat.

“I...I’ll be right back.” she excused herself and made a beeline to the restroom. 

To her luck the bathroom was completely empty, not a single employee or customer in sight. Letting out a sigh of relief she got some cold water running from the faucet, cupped her hands together and managed to get a big gulp of water in hopes to combat how dry her throat had suddenly become.

“Sakura?” Aoi quietly called out as she stepped into the bathroom. “You alright?” 

“Yes... well, no... actually...” Sakura took a deep breath and tried to get her thoughts in order. “Aoi, during my years at Hope’s Peak I only dated one girl for half a semester...”

“Okay?” her girlfriend raised an eyebrow at that statement. “I don’t see where you’re getting at.”

“Doing your high school years, do you recall the rumour that Junko had a lesbian lover?” 

“Uhh yeah, it was like on all the gossip magazines.” Aoi said. Sakura gave her some time for her girlfriend to put two and two together. And sure enough Aoi’s eyes widen at the realization. “Wait... are you telling me...?”

“Yes, Junko is my ex.” Sakura clarified at long last.

“The very one I was talking to?!” Aoi gasped in horror as Sakura nodded. “You dated a celebrity?!”

“I wouldn’t use the term ‘date’, more like she used me as a publicity stunt.” she explained. “Needless to say dating the most sought after girl in school left me rather unpopular with her other admirers. Though they were too cowardly to do much aside talk behind my back and the occasional prank.”

“That’s so cruel!” she cried out.

“Dare to say the rest of the story is unpleasant...” Sakura warned.

“Wait, you mean theirs more?!”

“Despite everyone knowing we were going out at the time, there was little evidence to back up that claim.” she explained. “The reason I never got my fifteen minutes of frame or got bombarded by the paparazzi was because...” she paused for a brief moment. “How do I phase this? She controlled everything about the relationship. I wasn’t allow to be the one who messaged or called her first, she had to get in contact with me, no exceptions. I couldn’t do anything unless she initiated it, which was rare to begin with. But when she did it made me think it was all worth it.”

“That’s terrible, how could you stand it?!” Aoi asked and covered her mouth. “S-sorry! I didn’t mean to sound like I was blaming you or-“

“It’s natural you would ask, do not fret.” Sakura reassured. “I often asked myself the same thing.” she let out a tired sigh. “I can only say I was settling. Dating has always been difficult for me, I allowed myself to be manipulated and used by her. I was lonely and she saw that and took advantage of that. I suspect she’s attempting to mess with me now as a little reminder.” 

Soon as she was finished Aoi immediately grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the bathroom,

“Come on!” Aoi urged.

“Aoi, what are you doing?” Sakura questioned as Aoi looked back at her with the fiercest expression that could rival a wild animal on the prowl.

“You’re see.” her girlfriend stated, returning them to their table while Junko unfortunately remained. 

Only this time, Aoi sat much closer to her, which meant directly on Sakura’s lap. The fiercest that was once on her girlfriend’s face was now masked with that of a giddy and hyper school girl as went about peppering her face in kisses.

“I (kiss) can’t (kiss) get (kiss) over (kiss) how (kiss) great (kiss) you (kiss) look!” Aoi gushed loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear between each kiss. 

Ah, so that’s what Aoi was plotting. Acting the complete opposite of what Junko was like when they dated. Did it count as petty revenge? Never mind, it didn’t matter. Regardless, Sakura could never shy away from Aoi’s affection. 

Aoi glance at Junko, who was obviously doing her best to contain just how annoyed she was.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? Sakura’s my girlfriend.” she bragged, lovingly wrapping her arms around her neck. 

“I can see.” Junko replied, eyes ever so slightly narrowed as she sipped her wine just as their meals arrived.

Aoi’s plate remained completely untouched, her girlfriend was too wrapped up in giving affection to even bother eating. Each word of praise was loud and clear, even going as far as nipping her neck. Okay, now that may had been crossing the line. Sakura had no intentions of being kicked out of the place for any lewd displays.

“We’re in public.” she warned in a whisper. “You’re dinner is getting cold.”

Aoi pouted and rolled her eyes. “You sound like my mom...” she complained and scooted off her lap. 

Sakura glanced at Junko, who still gave off that annoyed vibe. Sakura considered herself above revenge, that was shallow... But being able to prove to her first and toxic ex lover (if she could even call Junko that) that in the end she was deserving of someone who was proud to be with her felt so satisfying. Perhaps it was less revenge and more like clearing out the negativity that haunted her from time to time. She was confident in her relationship with Aoi, something she never had with Junko.

“You’re right, the orange duck is really good!” Aoi happily mused as if Sakura never told her that Junko was her ex. 

“It is!” Junko mused along, oh how Sakura could see through that facade that she used to manipulate everyone, even her at one point. 

Though this time was different, she and Aoi saw through everything and were more aware than ever. So when Junko dared to try to touch her thigh again, Sakura swiftly and firmly grabbed her wrist. Not enough to harm her, she would never harm another living being unless it was absolutely necessary.

“I would advise against touching me in front of my girlfriend.” she warned. “Unless you would rather I told the media how I caught crabs from you.”

The stunned look on Junko’s face was one that Sakura could tell was real... or maybe it wasn’t? Junko was a difficult book to read, this could had been another part of her act. Who knows? All she did know was that she needed to get away from a Junko right now. Not because Sakura felt weaken by her, but because she refused to let her ex ruin her and Aoi’s time together.

“Excuse me.” Aoi called to the waiter. “Could we wrap up our meals to go?” she requested, as if she could read Sakura’s mind.

...

In the end they decided on grabbing a box of donuts at the nearest convenient store and lazily sprawling out on the couch as they watched a few sapphic themed movies.

“Aoi, anything special you feel like doing afterwards?” Sakura asked, wiping her powdered sugar coated fingers on her shirt. She could hear Celeste screaming if she were to see her do such a thing in front of her after all the time they spend on selecting an outfit.

“Uhh...well ...” Aoi took another bite of a donut before looking up at Sakura. “It’s been... past six weeks.” 

 

....

Babies were seriously fucking lucky. All they had to do was eat, shit, and cry for a pretty damn big chunk of their life once their born. What Mondo wouldn’t give to go back to that, back when he didn’t have to give a damn anymore. He let out a tired sigh as he watched Midori. Both of them were sprawled out on the floor on a blanket on their stomaches. He watched as Midori would muster up every bit of strength she had and lift her head off the ground, giving him that adorable gummy smile, especially whenever he whipped out the car keys and dangled them in front of her. 

“You sure are lucky, squirt.” Mondo mused, watching his daughter smile as her lilac eyes locked onto the set of keys. Being as Midori was still so young, her head flopped back onto the ground. He snorted and rolled onto his back before scooping up Midori and settling her on his chest. “And still growing like a darn weed.” he chuckled and planted a kiss on her chubby little cheeks.

Midori was proving to be an excellent distraction... Gee, that sounded pretty shitty actually. It was more like spending quality one on one time with his daughter when he should be doing other adult shit. There, that sounded a tad better! He sighed and dangled the keys for Midori again, grinning as she reached out for them. Fuck, his daughter was cuter than a bunch of puppies! 

The sound of paper crinkling snapped him out of his fatherhood bliss. Swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled sticky note. On the sticky note was a phone number that Takemichi had scribbled down for him. Said phone number belonged to none other than his big bro, Daiya. He stared at the numbers... he never liked numbers. Math and all that other academic junk wasn’t something he was ever good at, so his distaste for numbers was a given. 

How fucked up was this? Daiya was alive and well for all these years and not once did he try to make any contact with him! To wrapped up in his guilt to even properly check up on him! This mess probably would had been sorted out a lot earlier if he did. He was such a fucking idiot...

“Had you... thought about it?” came the voice of his husband, who had previously been prepping supper.

“It’s been on my da-darn mind since Takemichi told me...” he responded with a huff.

“Had you thought about what you’re going to do?”

“Dye my hair, change my name and move to Canada?”

As expected his husband’s face shifted into an unamused frown. “I’m serious, Mondo.”

“Fine... I probably would had made a terrible redhead anyway.” Mondo grumbled, scooping up Midori as he sat up. 

“Want me to take her?” Kiyotaka asked. Mondo nodded and handed Midori to him. “You’re still avoiding the question.”

“I...I... I don’t fu-freaking know...” he confessed, getting up from the floor. “Having you meet Takemichi was already a big step, then he drops this kind of bomb on me?!” he waved the scrap of paper. “How the heck do I deal with this?!”

“Takemichi gave you your brother’s phone number, wouldn’t the most logical thing to do next is call Daiya?” Ugh, Mondo hated when his husband was right, even if he was rather blunt about it. 

“I wouldn’t even know what to say... it’s been so long.” he was just making excuses, he knew he was bound to have some contact with his family at some point. But Mondo always figured that wouldn’t be for awhile, like at least half a year or even a full year before he had to make any kind of effort to each out. He glanced at the crumpled note, Daiya was just a phone call away... “Doubt I ever will though.” he said defeated as he hung his head. “Get me the phone...” 

Kiyotaka gave a nod before leaving the living room, returning with the cordless house phone. 

He felt like a newborn kitten, weak, helpless, pathetic, just a cloud of negativity hanging over him as he took ahold of the phone, which felt so damn heavy in his hand. With the phone in one hand and Daiya’s number in the other, he quickly memorized his brother’s number before dialling it. 

Each ring caused his stomach to do flips. Maybe Daiya wasn’t even home? Or he was avoiding Mondo himself? Did Takemichi tell him anything? Like that Daiya had a niece? Or that he was married to another man? He should of fucking asked the guy before he le-

“Hello?”

Mondo froze, he haven’t heard that voice in so long. 

“Uhh...” fuck, say something! “Daiya?”

Another long and sickening pause, and all Mondo could do was wait. Either for him to hang up, yell, talk, just SOMETHING to end the awkward silence between them. 

“Mondo?” his brother finally spoke. “Is that... really you?” his brother sounded the same, a bit more tired than usual. Maybe he just woke up from a nap or something?

“Ye-Yeah...” god he sounded so pathetic.

“I... it’s been so damn long.” he could sense the disbelief in Daiya’s tone, his big bro probably felt like this was all some dream. 

“Look, Daiya... I.” he stopped himself. No, this wasn’t something he should be doing over the phone. Hearing his brother’s voice was one thing, but now that he heard it he wanted- no, he NEEDED to see him in person. “I can’t do this shit.”

“Excuse me?”

“We gotta do this face to fucking face!” as usual his increase in volume was giving away just how much of a nervous wreck he was right now. He also made sure to mouth a quick ‘sorry’ to his husband for cursing in front of Midori. Another pause, but luckily it didn’t last long before Daiya spoke.

“When?” Daiya asked.

“As soon as you can!” 

“Remember that old place we used to go to all the time to eat? Food was cheap and not too shitty?” 

“Yeah...”

“Meet me there in two hours.”

“Alright, see you there.” he responded and hung up, immediately he doubled over.

“A-Are you alright?” Kiyotaka asked.

“Think I’m gonna be sick.”

Soon as he said that Kiyotaka raced off and returned with a waste bin. Once he got a taste of what Sakura dealt with for nine months, he let out a groan. 

“What did he say?” Kiyotaka asked.

“We’re gonna meet up somewhere...” he explained.

“When?” 

“Two hours from now.” Mondo covered his face. God damnit! Shit, shit, shit! Was this a dream? Please say it was a dream! It hardly felt real! What the ever loving fuck was he gonna say once he saw Daiya?! He could hardly come up with anything once he heard his brother’s voice for the first time. Where was he suppose to start? That he left for Hope’s Peak? That he was gay? Married? “I... I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do!”

“First off,” Kiyotaka began with furrowed brows. “You’re going to stop swearing in front of our daughter.” 

Mondo forced a dry chuckle. “Alright... I can do that.”

“Secondly, you’re going to get yourself organized and think about what you’re going to do when you meet him.” Kiyotaka informed. 

Ugh, his husband made everything sound so simple... even if it wasn’t! He was never good with words or emotional shit! Was it too late to book it to Canada? His gaze rested on Midori... he thought back on the topic of family. His side was all they had in terms of blood relation. Midori had a right to know about his side of the family, especially Daiya. Daiya also had the right to know about his niece. Becoming an uncle was a big deal after all... he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He had to suck it up and do this! He made a man’s promise to Midori before she was even born that him and Kiyotaka would get their shit together! He had to put all his anxiety and guilt behind him and do this for her! 

“Yeah... you’re right.” Mondo nodded. 

“There, just mentally prepare yourself!” Kiyotaka made it sound so damn easy. “Shall I make some tea to help?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need it.”


	22. Chapter 22

Mondo haven’t felt this anxious in years, the only time his anxiety got this bad was when he was holding a bloody Daiya in his arms. And low and behold, Daiya was the cause of his uneasiness yet again. It was some kind of miracle it didn’t impair his driving abilities while on his bike. With his bike parked, Mondo stared at the restaurant before him. It hardly changed over the years, aside from a couple cheaply printed signs advertising some new menu items. Alright, he was at the location, now all he had to do was actually go inside and meet Daiya. His feet felt like he had cinderblocks attached to them, each step he took just made him feel slow and heavy. He was thankful it was late with so few people out at this hour, it meant less people would see how much of a mess he was. 

Soon as he opened the door he was met with that familiar scent of cheap greasy food and cigarette smoke. 

“Table for one?” a red headed waitress offered, already with a menu tucked under her arm.

“Uhh... actually I’m here to meet someone.” he explained. 

“Oh, right this way then.” she mused, leading Mondo to the back of the room. 

The place was mostly empty, aside from two tired looking men who were probably just here for the cheap liquor, and a group of teenagers all chatting loudly as they shared a pizza. 

He couldn’t even look up as the waitress stopped at the table furtherest away from everything. When he did his whole body turned to ice, time was frozen, everything was just like he was stuck on a glacier, as his gaze met a set of lilac eyes just like his. No doubt lingered in his mind, this was definitely Daiya.

He looked so different, a lot more thinner than before, pale, and had a cane accompanying him. If he didn’t style his hair the same way he did years ago, Mondo wouldn’t had recognized him. 

“Here Are some menus.” The waitress spoke, snapping Mondo out of his frozen state. “Shall I get you anything to drink?”

“Just water, if you don’t mind.” Daiya spoke. God, he even sounded the same after all these years.

“And for you?” 

“Uhh... same.” Mondo managed to say, taking his seat across from Daiya. 

“Alright.” The waitress smiled and made off, completely unaware of the chilling atmosphere between the two brothers. 

They sat in silence for awhile, only speaking to thank the waitress and to order, although Mondo was far from hungry. 

“So...” Daiya began, swirling the ice in his glass with its straw. “It’s been awhile...” 

“Yeah, it has...” he replied, once again finding himself unable to look at Daiya and instead ended up looking at his own lap. 

“Come on, it’s been years. Let me look at you.” Daiya urged.

Reluctantly Mondo slowly raised his head, once again face to face with his brother. He felt so nauseous from all the anxiety, it felt just like what happened after the accident, only this time Daiya wasn’t lying on a hospital bed hooked up with hundreds of whatever that medical junk was. Here he was, and Mondo had no place to hide. 

“You can quit with all the damn small talk.” Mondo spoke, gathering what little confidence he had to sit up straight and look at him in the eyes. 

Daiya forced a small chuckle. “Blunt as always, you haven’t changed a bit...” his eyes lowered on the gold wedding band on Mondo’s finger. “Or at least I thought.” he wasn’t saying it to be an asshole, Mondo knew that. It was just genuine interest... assuming Takemichi didn’t tell him much, Daiya was in the dark about his life now. 

“That shit ain’t important right now.” Mondo said just as their meals arrived. Neither were hungry being as the tension killed their appetite, though it wasn’t like they had much of one to began with.

“Fine, It ain’t like we can avoid talking about it.” Daiya let out a sigh and took a quick sip of water. “First off, where the hell did you run off too?” he demanded. “When I first woke up nobody was there, I was expecting you to be the first thing I see.” he could sense the disappointment that lingered in Daiya’s tone.

Mondo couldn’t blame him, the thought of waking up after being out of it for so long, expecting your younger bro to be there to greet you when you wake up, only to be greeted by sterile white walls and the obnoxious beeping of medical equipment. All alone until a nurse or doctor came.

“I went to Hope’s Peak...” Mondo responded. “I lived on campus...”

“Hope’s Peak?” Daiya echoed back. “The school that scouts out its students?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” he nodded.

Another pause, but thankfully it was short lived.

“Alright, I can’t be pissed off that you actually went to do something with your life. I heard good things about that place...” he began. “What I am pissed off about is that you left without telling the gang.” Daiya’s mouth curled into a frown. “They were like our fucking family, and you just up and left without a goodbye or any explanation what so ever.” he scolded. “Do you have any idea how betrayed we all felt?! If you wanted to go to Hope’s Peak that would had been fine, but leaving the gang in the dark about it? You disappeared without a trace, there were rumours you fled the country and committed suicide!” Daiya’s frown faltered. “What I want to know... is why? Why did you leave the gang and your brother, your goddam flesh and blood without even saying goodbye?”

“Because I’m fucking weak!” Mondo spat, slamming his fist on the table and making the silverware clatter. “Is that what you want me to say?! I felt so goddamn awful after everything I ran away from it all! Happy now?!” he could feel the gaze of the very few on lookers, had this place been more packed they probably would had been kicked out by now. Wouldn’t be the first time Mondo got kicked out of a place... 

“So what? You blame yourself for all this?” Daiya inquired.

“Fuck no, I blame you!” he blurted out. “You chose to push me out of the way and get yourself put in that stupid fucking coma!” Mondo spat. “Instead of letting your goddamn idiot brother get hit! None of this shit would had been happening if you literally stayed in your goddamn lane!”

Daiya didn’t even flinched when Mondo let all that out, instead he just took another sip of water, stirred the ice cubes in his glass again before looking back at Mondo.

“You don’t mean that.” Daiya said, somehow still completely unfazed. “You don’t blame me, you just got a shit ton of survivor guilt. You WISH it was you because you feel guilty.” he leaned back into his seat. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that’s why you left...”

“Fine, you’re right. Lying to the gang that you were being a dumbass and got yourself in that accident instead of telling them you saved my ass to get some respect was eating me alive! There, that’s what you wanted me to say instead?!” he spat. Ugh, why did he have to get pissed off so easily? No, it wasn’t that he was angry, more like frustrated and taking it out on his brother. God he was a piece of shit.

“All these years and you still act like a child.” Daiya shook his head. “Some things never changed.” he picked at his meal. “We’re just going in circles here, I didn’t come here to fight with you.” 

“Believe it or not... neither did I...” Mondo sighed, using his straw to repeatedly puncture the slice of lemon in his water. “So what did we come here for? Two hours ain’t really enough time to come up with a plan. For me anyway...”

“To talk... but I suppose that’s a little too vague of a plan for both of us.” Daiya shrugged. “How about we fill in the gaps, we’re both still in the dark about a lot of things.”

“So what? We fix the cracks or fill on the gaps... whatever it’s fucking called?” Mondo frowned. “If we’re doing that I get to ask you shit first.”

“Fair enough, I already egged you on about leaving... guess it’s your turn.” he stated.

“Fine...” alright, now he had the power to ask Daiya whatever he wanted. All the questions that flooded his mind in the short span of time since he heard about his brother’s awakening piled up. Where to start though? He supposed the beginning would do. “What happened when you woke up?”

“Let me just say as someone who hates hospitals, staying there was a nightmare.” he explained. “Constant tests, nurses and doctors in and out of my room, it was depressing as hell. Accidentally ended up on suicide watch if I complained and said I rather die than have someone give me a sponge bath. Nurse was a total dick... he probably had a grudge against me. Don’t get me started on all other appointments and physical therapy once I left...” 

Mondo felt his stomach churn at the thought, both he and Daiya hated hospitals. He could imagine having to stay there and everything related to that was hell for Daiya... and Daiya endured all of that just so Mondo wouldn’t have too. 

“Sorry... that must had been hell.” he apologized.

“Don’t apologize... actually physical therapy isn’t THAT bad. The woman who does it is pretty cute.” Daiya mused with a small chuckle. “Shame she’s married, and speaking of married...” he gestured to the ring on Mondo’s finger. “It’s my turn to ask you some questions.” a big cheeky grin spread upon his pale face. “You a married man now?”

Oh boy, were they seriously going to dive into this now? He never told the gang or his brother that he was curious about relationships with other men, let alone officially come out as gay to them with the exception of Takemichi, although that was only recently. 

“Yeah, I am.” he confirmed, causing Daiya’s smile to get even bigger. 

“Never thought I’ll live to see the day. My loudmouth brother got hitched!” Daiya let out a loud laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah. Now I gotta ask about-“

“Oh no, I want details. You aren’t getting off that easy.” he mused. “Who’s the lucky woman? I want to know everything about your wife.”

“Husband.” he corrected. “I’m married to a man.” There, after all these years he finally came out to Daiya.

Daiya’s reaction was one of surprise, but only mildly. “What is he like?”

“Wait, aren’t you surprised or shocked about it?” Mondo questioned.

“Sort of.” Daiya spoke. “I mean... how do I put this? I sort of always had a little hunch you might play for the other team. Didn’t know how to bring it up without you losing your temper or some shit like that.” he shrugged. “But it don’t make you any less of my family. I never had any problems with Takemichi over his sexuality. Hell, I would gladly punch a few bastards for him if anyone ever did and I sure as fuck would do the same for you.”

“Wait... you knew about Takemichi? Did everyone know he was gay but me?!” Wow, guess the whole gay-dar thing Hiro rambled on about was a myth. 

“Looks like it!” Daiya laughed. “Now, tell me about your husband.”

“Shit, where do I star even?” he unintentionally twiddled his thumbs. “His name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, we met at Hope’s Peak. He’s loud like me, maybe louder. Real stickler for the rules, hardest worker I ever met, smart as fuck too....” he trailed off, feeling some pink make an appearance on his cheeks. 

“Look at you, you’re like a school girl with a crush!” Daiya snorted.

“Fuck you!” Mondo snarled, the colour in his cheeks deepening... mainly because Daiya was right.

“Relax, I’m just teasing.” he snorted. “Sounds like you definitely snagged yourself a keeper. A stern and focused man, someone to keep you grounded. Definitely what you need.”

“Yeah, Taka definitely fits the bill for that.” he nodded. “Now I gotta ask... what about mom?”

“Figured you would ask... she stuck around once you left... she couldn’t visit often, had to work longer hours to pay for the hospital bills and what not.” he explained and rested his chin in his palm. “She was miserable, thought she lost both her sons.” Just when Mondo’s thought the pit of guilt in in his stomach couldn’t get any worse. His mother worked two jobs just to put food on the table and pay rent, and he just up and left her with his comatose brother. God, he was such a coward... “She was exhausted, working and helping me out... she looked like death most days.”

“What is she doing now?” was she still working multiple jobs?

“Hard to say.” Daiya shrugged.

“What to you mean?” 

“Of course you don’t know, she left Japan once she was a hundred and ten percent sure I was alright on my own.” he explained.

“Wait, she left the country?” he asked, eyes widen once he was hit with that fact.

“Said it was just too painful to stay here.” Daiya informed. “Once she saved up the money she moved all the way to California. She does hair for a living, sends me money even though I tell her she doesn’t have to.” he explained. 

“Does she ask about me?” 

“Occasionally once she first left the country, but overtime I think she just accepted we would never hear from you again.” Daiya explained with a frown.

“Jesus Christ...” he really didn’t think the whole running away to Hope’s Peak thing through. This was probably why most people planned shit through... “I... I’m sorry...” he didn’t know what else to say, he fucked over so many people by leaving them. Takemichi, Daiya, even his own mother! 

“Wish I could say not to dwell over it, but I really can’t.” Daiya replied with a shake of his head. “Sorry isn’t going to cut it.”

“I know... shit...” Mondo held back a sigh. “If I could go back in time and change it I would.”

“I have no doubt you would.” Daiya said, taking a sip of water. “I know you like I know my own mind... I’m just relieved you didn’t fuck up your future, hell you’re doing better than a lot of people I know. You working?”

“Yeah, I’m a carpenter now.” Mondo spoke. “It sort of always been my plan once I was getting close to graduating...”

“Carpentry?” Daiya repeated. “Had no idea you would be into that.”

“Well I just figured I spend so much time breaking shit maybe it’s time I try making something for a change.” he explained. “It’s pretty rewarding, hard work, but definitely rewarding.”

“That’s so damn poetic coming from you.” Daiya smiled. “Glad you’re doing what you love.”

“Thanks...”

Another pause between them. Fuck, What was he suppose to say now?! This was so much to take in at onc-

“Alright, you leaving out the best part on purpose or something?” Daiya inquired, snapping Mondo out of his panic.

“What do you mean?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

Daiya let out a short chuckle as he smiled. “A little birdie named Takemichi accidentally let it slip that I’m a uncle.” 

“He told you?!” Mondo asked in shock. He was originally planning on telling Daiya about Midori after awhile should he still want to remain in contact with him. 

“Before you go blaming Takemichi, it was an honest mistake on his part. Didn’t give me any other details once he said your kid was adorable.” Daiya said. “Promised I wouldn’t say anything about it to you, but it’s been on my damn mind since he let it slip.” he grinned. “So, mind filling me in? Am I really an uncle?”

Mondo slowly nodded, taking a quick drink of his lemon-y water. Blah,if only he had some sugar. “Yeah, you’re an uncle.” he confirmed. 

Daiya’s grin grew. “Congratulations, never thought I would see the day you became a dad.” 

“Neither did I.” Mondo dug into his pockets and retrieved his cellphone. “You want to see a picture of her?”

“Her?” Daiya repeated.

“Yeah, I got a little girl.” he couldn’t help but grin as well, something about fatherhood just made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

“Of fucking course I want to see a picture of her!” Daiya mused as Mondo quickly browsed through the many photos of Midori until he found one of his favourites. It was a candid shot his husband took of him holding Midori, who had that sweet toothless smile plastered on her face. 

“Here’s one.” Mondo handed the phone over to his brother.

Right away Daiya’s expression soften and a long high pitch ‘aw’ filled the booth. 

“Holy shit, she looks just like you!” Daiya gushed and looked up from the phone and back to Mondo. “What’s her name?”

“Midori.” Mondo replied.

“Midori...” Daiya echoed back. “God, that’s a pretty name. So fitting for a cutie like her.” he chuckled. “Got anymore of her?”

Mondo laughed, the majority of the photos on his phone were of his daughter! “Of course I do!” he took back his phone and selected some photos from when Midori was first born. “These are from when she was first born.” he informed, swiping across the phone screen to the next few photos to create a little ‘slideshow’ for his older brother. 

Daiya watched on in awe, eyes locked upon the screen as he watched each photo of his niece go by.

“Who’s the dude with the eyebrows?” he asked when they reached the picture of a teary eyed Kiyotaka holding a barely day old Midori.

“That would be my husband, Kiyotaka.” Mondo stated, zooming in on the photo. “He’s fantastic with her...” 

“I’ll bet.” Daiya replied. “Mom’s gonna lose her fucking mind once she sees her, bet she’s gonna spoil the shit out of little Midori.” he glanced at Mondo. “Uhh... assuming you want to tell her at some point...”

“I plan too... at some point.” he sheepishly replied and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hey... so I get that everything is a lot to take in right now, but...” Daiya trailed off for a moment. “I really would like to meet my niece someday.”

“Come tomorrow then!” Mondo blurted out without a second thought. If Daiya wanted to meet Midori he would gladly oblige. Takemichi already spilled the beans about him having a daughter, might as well have Daiya meet her, And Mondo guessed that was sort of the end goal to this whole reunion, have Daiya become part of his life again. “You can join us for brunch!”

Daiya’s eyes widen briefly before the joyous look spread onto his face. “Fuck yeah! I’ll definitely come over!.” he mused. “Gotta make sure this Kiyotaka fellow is treating my baby bro right!” he laughed, getting up from his seat with the help of his cane. “Come here, been years since I got to hug from my brother. If that’s alright of course.”

Mondo didn’t answer, he didn’t have too. The fact he was already getting out of his seat was surely more than enough of an answer for his brother. 

....

The thought of his husband going off to face his demons left him worried, especially without Mondo having him by his side. He would had much rather stay at home and tend to Midori as he awaited for Mondo’s return or the very least a phone call. But Yasuhiro insisted that he had to come over to his place right away. The reason why was something Kiyotaka was left in the dark about,but he was reassured that it wouldn’t take long at all. Once he unbuckled Midori from her car seat, he got her strapped and settled onto his chest.

Honestly, Midori was suppose to be sound asleep in her crib by now. Hiro better have a good explanation for why he needed him so late, dealing with a cranky infant who was thrown off her schedule was not something Kiyotaka looked forward too. As soon as he knocked on the door of Hiro’s apartment the door opened, but rather than Hiro who stood there it was Byakuya.

“Byakuya?” he asked.

“Yasuhiro kept badgering me to come over, I took pity on my staff for having to deal with all his ludicrous phone calls.” he explained. “Not even the lowest of the low should have to keep listening to his nonsense.”Byakuya said as he and Kiyotaka made their way to Hiro’s living room.

“Is Taka here?!” Hiro called from another room.

“Yes, now can you please get on with whatever you dragged us here to do.” he ordered, frowning as always whenever it came to Hiro’s antics. 

“Alright, just give me a second. I wanna make sure I do this right!”

Kiyotaka had little time to ask what Hiro meant by that. Soon enough the apartment was filled with a song Kiyotaka recalled from one of the openings from the children movies he had studied. What was it called again? Something about lions and it shared a plot similar to Shakespeare’s Hamlet... But that was the least of his concerns. 

Yasuhiro strode into the room, arms outstretched over his head with a big and proud grin on his face as he carried a baby up high. 

Wait a second... where on earth did Hiro get a baby?! 

Kiyotaka’s jaw dropped at the realization. The infant shared Hiro’s dreadlocks, though unlike Hiro’s, the infants long dreads didn’t stand up in all directions like his, instead they flowed downwards. And on top of that they possessed a pair of Hiro’s eyes.

Hiro said nothing to the two and just kept on grinning from ear to ear as he held the infant high in the air until the song ended. 

“Well, what did you two think?” Hiro asked, lowering down the infant. “I spent forever rehearsing it.” he bragged.

“Yasuhiro... where did that baby come from?” Kiyotaka asked, eyes widen and locked onto the teal clad baby. The infant looked a few months older than Midori, but not as old as Akira.

“Kiyotaka, Byakuya, I would like you to meet Hana, Hana Hagakure!” he beamed.

“Wait... are you t-telling me...” Byakuya stammered, completely thrown off guard.

“Yup, this is my daughter!” Hiro confirmed.

“Since when did you have a daughter?!” Kiyotaka demanded to know.

“Well... once I got custody of her.” he explained. “Didn’t even know I had a daughter until the mom gave her up months after having her. Isn’t she cute? Looks like the splitting image of her old man!” Hiro bragged. “But more importantly, do you two know what this means?”

“That I should keep CPS on speed dial?” Byakuya scoffed.

“No, that my prediction is gonna be spot on!” he jabbed a finger into Kiyotaka’s chest. “Now that I got a kid, it totally means we’re all gonna be in-laws!”

“Oh not this nonsense again!” Byakuya complained. 

“It’s true! Now that I got a daughter it’s certain!” Hiro spoke. “We gotta think of our grandkids!” 

“Just because you have Hana doesn’t mean our children are going to have relations of any sort.” Byakuya argued. “It just means as you plebeians would say, ‘your pull out game is weak’.” he scowled. “My son would never get involved with either of your pathetic daughters.”

“My daughter is right here, you know!” Kiyotaka hissed. Taunts directed at him was one thing, but under no circumstances would he let Midori be talked about like that. “At least my child was planned!”

“By the way, I would stop referring to Akira as your son.” Hiro began. “The gender binary is worthless to him.”

Before anyone could speak, Midori started to whimper and squirm. Kiyotaka frowned, a tired and cranky infant was something he was hoping to avoid, 

“I need to go, its way passed Midori’s bedtime.” he explained. 

“And I want to leave before your stupidity rubs off on me.” Byakuya said and crossed his arms.

“That’s great actually, I gotta go redo Hana’s grand entrance for when my mom comes over!” he mused excitedly. “Bet she’ll be thrilled when she finds out she has a grandkid!”

“She’ll be... something alright...” Kiyotaka spoke and cleared his throat. “Uhh... call if you need anything... good luck.”

“Your gonna need it.” Byakuya added and narrowed his eyes at Hana. “Especially you.”


	23. Chapter 23

As per usual, Mondo hated waiting. He could easily kill time on his bike if he could, but yet again that wasn’t a choice. It especially wasn’t helping that Daiya was running late. This was probably karma for all those times Mondo was late for class... To be fair though once he started dating Taka his partner refused to let him be late. 

As soon as Mondo heard the door bell ring he sprang off the couch, hoping he wouldn’t have a repeat of Yasuhiro showing up unannounced to ramble on about the future of their children. Hopefully Hana would keep him grounded, though that was asking a lot for an infant.

Upon opening the door it confirmed that it definitely wasn’t Hiro and his odd antics, but it definitely fell into the odd category. Because if being greeted by a giant stuffed unicorn didn’t count as odd, Mondo didn’t know what did. 

“Uhh... what the fuck?” Mondo asked aloud, glad Kiyotaka wasn’t near to lecture him about cursing in their household.

“Mind carrying it in?” Daiya asked, trying to poke his head out from behind the toy. “Hard to carry this little shit.”

Mondo automatically seized the oversized stuffed toy from his brother. Sheesh, what the hell was going through his brother’s mind when he got this? Midori obviously...

“What the hell, Daiya?” 

“Seriously? You tell me I got a niece now and you’re expecting me NOT to spoil her rotten?” Daiya snickered. “I’m an uncle, it’s my job.”

Where the hell was he gonna put this damn thing? Him and Kiyotaka just barely found room for all the gifts their friends had floored them with. For now he decided to just plop the ridiculous sized toy on the couch, which took up the same amount of space as a normal person. 

“Think she’ll love it?” Daiya asked, trailing behind Mondo.

“I can’t think of any kid who wouldn’t.” Mondo chuckled,already picturing a toddler version Midori curled up or attempting to drag the thing around despite it being much taller than her. 

“So this is where you live?” Daiya asked. Mondo confirmed with a nod. “Definitely a lot better than the shit hole we lived in. You’re really living the dream.” he commented.

“Thanks, but a little heads up.” Mondo began. “My husband doesn’t tolerate ANY swearing now that we got Midori in the house. So just be careful, unless you want a long ass lecture about child development.” he warned with a laugh. 

“Let me guess, you got a swear jar too?” Daiya asked.

“Somehow no, but I wouldn’t put it pass him.” Mondo joked. Wow, the night before was so awkward and unnerving. But now was nearly like old times... cracking a few jokes, it almost felt normal. “Guess we just figured out how to save up for Midori’s college fund.” 

“So what? No dog yet?” Daiya asked. “Because I’m still waiting to be bombarded by an army of those fluffy white little shits you like.”

“Unfortunately no, sort of been putting getting a dog on hold. We had renovations to do, work, and then we spent awhile trying to have a kid, and now we’re taking care of said kid.” Mondo responded. “Taka probably won’t budge for one until Midori’s older.”

“Speaking of which, the whole point of me coming here was to meet your family.” he pointed out. 

“Right, uhhh... right this way.”

....

Daiya definitely changed since the photo Kiyotaka saw, but... how should he put this? That vibe he gave off... as soon as Daiya stepped into the kitchen, he could automatically just feel some type of brotherly feeling coming off of him. 

“Daiya, this is my husband.” Mondo introduced. 

“Hey, I’m your mysterious brother in law.” he greeted with a small laugh and held his hand out.

“It’s an honour to finally meet you.” Kiyotaka greeted back, taking ahold of Daiya’s hand to shake. Much to his surprise Daiya gave his hand a firm squeeze.

“The very same.” Daiya grinned before letting go.

“Can I get you something to drink?” he offered. “Tea, coffee, water?”

“Tea would be pretty good right now, green if you have it.” 

Ha! Luckily for Daiya the tea in the house was left untouched since him and Mondo made the unconscious swap for coffee. “Of course!” 

Kiyotaka right away went about getting a kettle ready. 

“So, I believe I was also promised a niece?” Daiya grin got bigger as he glanced at Mondo.

“I’ll go get her, about time she woke up from her nap.” Mondo offered.

“Perfect, gives me and my new in law time to talk.” Daiya mused. “One on one, man to man.”

Mondo chuckled and rolled his eyes before leaving. To think that once Daiya was a subject that was a sensitive matter, even talking or bringing it up was dangerous territory. But now there Daiya stood, in the flesh. He had another new family member. The whistle of the kettle brought him back to reality. He didn’t have time to dwell on this, he had to be a good host to his brother in law!

After taking the kettle off the stove and doing up a cup of tea, he handed it to Daiya,

“Here you go.” 

“Thanks man.” Daiya took a sip. “So... you and my little brother?” he sipped again. “Sorry, but I gotta do the over protective older brother trope at least once.” he joked. “So long story short, break my brother’s heart and I’ll break your face.” Daiya mused, before putting his hand on Kiyotaka’s shoulder in a affectionate brotherly manner. “Though I don’t think that’s gonna be the case with you.”

“We been together since high school, I firmly believe nothing will cause us to part.” Kiyotaka replied. 

“I believe that, without a doubt.” Daiya nodded. “You should had seen Mondo when I asked about you. He’s absolutely in love with you.” he smiled. “Never saw the poor fu- fool act like that in his life.” 

“I would certainly hope he loves me, I did marry him after all!” Kiyotaka joked. “But on a more serious note, thank you. I know the future is always uncertain, but I can truthfully say I can’t see myself spending my life with anyone else but him.”

“Listen to you, so darn mushy.” Daiya grinned. “If you can get all lovey dovey with my bro of all people, it’s definitely meant to be.”

The familiar sound of his husband’s footsteps caused his head to turn, and there stood Mondo with Midori in his arms. Dressed in ridiculous purple and white frilly set of clothes Celeste had given them. 

....

“Sorry about the wait, she needed to be changed.” Mondo apologized, watching Daiya’s expression soften as he laid his eyes on the infant.

“Holy shit...” Daiya said breathlessly, staring in awe at Midori.

“Language!” Kiyotaka hissed without missing a single beat.

“Right, sorry about that.” Daiya apologize. “Wow... she’s even more cute in person!” he cooed as Mondo made his way over with her.

This was so surreal, ever since the accident Mondo never once thought he would be here right now. Happily married, with a daughter, and his brother, who he originally thought was long gone, right here. Right here, seeing the family he had created during their time apart. So much had changed, but it was safe to say now neither him, Daiya, or Taka would be in the dark about anything anymore. Because they were all family.

“Here she is.” Mondo grinned, watching Daiya turn to mush at the sight of finally meeting his niece in the flesh.

“Sh- shoot, I still can’t believe it.” Daiya said, watching in awe as Midori was currently trying to stick her fist in her mouth, causing her to drool up a storm. “Aren’t you just the cutest little girl ever?” he gushed, bringing his hand over to Midori and running his fingers through her soft head of hair. “Look at all that hair. Gonna be a blast once it’s long enough to style and all that jazz.” he mused just as Midori lost interest in her fist and grew more focused on Daiya.

“Want to get on the couch and hold her?” Mondo offered.

Instantly Daiya’s eyes lit up before nodding. “Of course I do!” he answered with the excitement that could rival a kid in a candy store. 

Right away they made their way to the living room, where Mondo was reminded he neglected to tell Kiyotaka about the ridiculous sized unicorn Daiya brought over.

“Think she’ll like it?” Daiya asked, noticing Kiyotaka’s shocked expression once he laid eyes on the thing. “Bought the biggest one they had!”

“It... certainly is big.” Kiyotaka commented, nervously glancing at Mondo with a look that just screamed ‘Where are we gonna put that thing?!’ to which Mondo just shrugged. They would just have to find room somehow. 

“Course, Midori is my niece after all. It’s more or less my job to spoil her!” Daiya mused and plopped himself right next to the damn toy and grinned excitedly. “Speaking of which, mind handing her over now?”

“Alright, now just support her head-“

“Mondo, this isn’t the first time I held a baby.” Daiya reassured. “Did you forget your the younger brother?” 

Mondo glanced down at Midori. It was actually really weird if you thought about it. Sure babies were learning so much about the world, but there was no way Midori would ever know what she set in motion before she was even born. If it weren’t for her none of this would had happened. Taka would had never found that picture of Daiya, his husband would had never mentioned it, he would had never contacted Takemichi and learn Daiya was awake and alive. And it was all because of her, the precious little life in his arms right now. So aware yet completely aware of what she accomplished just by existing. She somehow managed to fix that crack in his life that Mondo thought would never be repaired. 

He couldn’t help but smile as he gently ease his daughter into Daiya’s arms. Daiya’s face broke out in a board grin as he looked at Midori.

“Hey Midori, I’m your Uncle Daiya.” he greeted in a warm hearty manner.

Midori stared back at him with her lilac eyes, pausing for a moment before removing her fist from her mouth and giving Daiya her signature toothless little smile.

“Aren’t you just the cutest little girl, hard to believe your my brother’s daughter.” Daiya joked. Mondo rolled his eyes at that. He wouldn’t expect anything less coming from his brother. “Or that your daddy actually found another man who could put up with his ugly mug of a face.” he teased further.

“Screw you jackass.” Mondo huffed.

“Language!” Kiyotaka lectured once again. “Despite this long awaited family reunion, I will not hesitate to end it if you keep using such foul speech in front of Midori!” 

Typical Taka... but that and his brother’s teasing just made this feel so normal. They were officially a normal and happy family.

....

“You know...” Kiyotaka began as he leaned against the wall. “This might be the only time I could get an almost unbiased view about Mondo as a child.” 

“So you want to know about Mondo as a kid?” Daiya asked.

“Most certainly, I am quite curious.”

“It just so happens I have quite a few family stories.” Daiya smirked. “Say bro, how about I tell them about that time you were in third grade and-“

“No!” Mondo quickly responded.

“What about that time we went camping and you tried to climb-“

“Nope!” 

“Alright, how about that incident with the bubble wrap where you-“

“Absolutely not!” 

“What about your fetish for-“ 

This time Mondo clamped a hand over Daiya’s mouth, cheeks a vibrant shade of red. “How about you shut the he- heck up?” he ordered. Daiya responded by biting down on Mondo’s hand. Mondo howled and immediately ripped his hand away. “Did you just bite me?!”

“When he was fourteen he watched a horror movie and couldn’t sleep in his own bed for like two weeks!” Daiya said so fast Kiyotaka could just barely make sense of it.

“What the heck man?!” Mondo hissed.

Kiyotaka could only stay silent and blink as he watch the two bicker. Was this what it was like to have siblings? He wouldn’t know seeing as he was an only child... Were all sibling relationships like this? 

“Uhh... would you like to see some photos?” Kiyotaka offered, hoping to end the bickering between the two brothers. “We have an album.”

Luckily it stopped the arguing, Daiya nodded eagerly. “Of course!”

Kiyotaka got up and selected a maroon photo album from the book shelf and opened it, plopping himself next to Daiya.

“Here we have us and a few friends graduating from Hope’s Peak.” Kiyotaka informed, gesturing to the photo with them and all their friends. “Here we have Toko, Byakuya, Leon, Yasuhiro, Makoto, Celeste, Sakura, she was our surrogate for Midori actually.” he informed. “Chihiro, and of course myself and Mondo.”

“They seem nice.” Daiya commented. “Bit of an odd crowd, but so were the Crazy Diamonds.” he mused.

“Here we have a few birthday parties.” Taka informed before flipping the page. “And this one was taken right after I proposed to Mondo.” he pointed to the photo of him and Mondo in the dining room of his father’s old house with him. “That person right there is my father, Takaaki.”

“I can tell by the eyes and eyebrows.” Daiya chuckled. 

“Ha! I get that quite a lot!” Kiyotaka chuckled. “My parents... are no longer here...”

Instantly Daiya’s gleeful expression disappeared. “Shi-shoot, sorry... I shouldn’t had said anything.”

“Don’t be...” Kiyotaka reassured. “They may be gone... this may be odd but somehow... I don’t know... I just know my father and mother know I’m happy, and they know about Midori. It sounds crazy, I know. And as unsure as I am about the afterlife, I just have this feeling that I can’t shake away...” he explained. “Besides, it’s not like I don’t have a family anymore.” he shifted his gaze from the photo album to Daiya. “I have Mondo, Midori, and you!” he beamed. “And hopefully many more nieces and or nephews for you in the future.”

“I look forward too it!” Daiya laughed. “Thanks for welcoming me into the family!” he laughed, Midori still in his arms as she gurgled happily.

“Now back to the photos! Here we have our wedding day.” Kiyotaka explained. “We decided to just elope rather then spurge on a big fancy wedding. We wanted to put our money towards a house and renovations.” 

“But I did put a little ‘Just Married, sign on the back of my bike before we rode off into the sunset.” Mondo added. “Got dressed up and a few of our friends were there.”

“You two look so happy.” Daiya spoke. 

“Course we were, it was one of the best days of my life.” Mondo added in. 

“I can tell.” Daiya mused. “Can I get a few copies of these? They would be a great addition to the family album. Mine has just been sitting in the basement collecting dust, would be great to put some new pictures in after so long.”

“Definitely!” Kiyotaka responded right away. “Give me a couple days and I should have some copies ready for you!”

“Look forward to it!” Daiya grinned just as Kiyotaka flipped the page again. “Here we have some holidays and nights out together.” he explained. “Ah, these are the newer ones from this year... basically all Midori.” he smiled as he came across the many photos of each and every ultrasound and of course all the pictures they had taken of Midori from the moment she was born and so on.

“A little cutie from day one.” Daiya mused, looking at Midori who’s fist was once again back in her mouth. “Yeah, I’m gonna need every picture of Midori you got.” he said. 

....

The rest of the day was spend looking through the album, watching some of his and Kiyotaka’s own home movies, catching up,sharing stories from the past, eating at the table with brother for the first time in years, and of course keeping Midori fed, changed, and entertained. It felt so normal, almost like the accident never happened. They were back to being a happy family that was better than ever. Daiya stayed late, it wasn’t long before it was dinner which they ended up just ordering from some restaurant that did delivery. 

Daiya laughed as he gave Midori her bottle, watching her drain the formula inside. “She even eats like you!” 

“Now if only she slept like me.” Mondo dryly chuckled. “She’s a light sleeper.”

“You poor man.” Daiya shook his head. “You giving your daddies a hard time?” he asked Midori, who responded by wrinkling up her little face and letting go of the nipple of the bottle to sneeze. “Bless you.” 

“Ah, speaking of which. It’s nearly pass her bedtime.” Kiyotaka said as he tossed a few takeout containers away in the trash. “Mind if I take her now?” he asked. 

“Alright, she looks like she’s starting to doze off on us.” Daiya said, setting the bottle aside and gave Midori a final little bit of affection before handing her back to Kiyotaka, who went off to prep her for bed. “You really made quite the amazing life for yourself.” Daiya complimented as he looked back at Mondo. 

“Thanks, honestly I don’t know what I did to deserve it though.” Mondo replied. “A loving husband, a healthy little girl, and of course you back in my life.” he leaned up against the wall. “I sometimes half expect this to all be a dream and I wake up and I’m back to being some punk again.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.” Daiya replied. 

“Heh, doubt it. But I appreciate the thought...” Mondo replied. “Honestly, if this is all a dream, I don’t ever wanna wake up from it.” 

“I feel you, I missed being a family.” Daiya said. “Life was hell for the pass few years, but enduring all that was worth it if it led up to this moment. Look... I just really gotta get this off my chest real quick.”

“The floor is yours, bro.”

“I don’t EVER want you to feel bad about me taking the hit for you back then.” he said firmly, in a tone he would often use to lecture Mondo back in the days. “I’m just gonna sum it up real quick since we already did all the emotional junk yesterday, and I don’t wanna ruin a good night with your family.”

“You really don’t gotta hold back for my sake.” Mondo reassured.

“Please, I want this night to end on a good note.” Daiya replied. “It’s just what big brothers do, look out for their younger siblings. It’s like an instinct we got.” he grinned. “Kind of my job and I wouldn’t be doing a very good job of being your big brother if I let your dumbass get hit.”

“God, you’re such a sap.” Mondo chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Hey, I’m just trying to be poetic and do some heartfelt emotional shit or something...” he shrugged. “Not really my forte, I know.”

“It’s fine, I know what your trying to say,” he said. “I’m just really fucking happy you’re back in my life, never thought it would happen again.”

“And I have no intention of leaving.” Daiya stated. “And I can trust it’s gonna be the same for you?”

“Well no shit!” Mondo responded. “I ain’t gonna fuck everything up a second time!”

“I have no doubt you won’t.” Daiya mused. 

“It’s a man’s promise!” Mondo spoke without even thinking. 

“It’s been years since I heard those words...” Daiya smiled softly. “Let alone make a man’s promise.” he held out his hand. “So, we gonna stick together and stay a family?”

“Fuck yeah!” Mondo grinned and gave his brother’s hand a firm shake. “It’s a promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We aren’t done just yet! Should be one or two more chapters before we’re officially done!


	24. Chapter 24

“Dad!”

Mondo groaned and rolled onto his side, you would think that not having any infants would mean more sleep. But you were dead wrong. 

“Five more minutes...” he instinctively replied. Kids were like alarm clocks with no sleep button.

“Dad, I’m hungry!” Midori fussed.

Mondo’s lips curled into a smile as he returned onto his back. “Hi hungry, I’m dad.” Why did dad jokes feel so damn good? Must be some kind of fatherhood thing.

“Daaaaaad!” Midori whined, climbing onto the bed and jumping onto him. Now normally this wouldn’t had been a problem, if Midori didn’t land on his groin. Thank goodness him and Taka were done having children.

He let out a muffled cry and immediately sat up. “Al-alright, go wait in living room.” he just barely managed to say.

This was good enough for Midori, she leapt off the bed and raced off to the living room. Once the pain subsided, Mondo exited the warmth and comfort of his and his husband’s bed he made his way to the living room. Midori had returned to watching Saturday morning cartoons with her brothers. They scored big at the baby lottery when it came to ivf, because the second and last round resulted in a set of twin boys. Sakura was set for life in the good karma department, offering right away to be their surrogate a second time. Mondo doubted they could ever properly repay her for all she has done to ensure him and Kiyotaka would have the family they always wanted. And carrying not one, but three children including Midori for them. Sakura was a fucking saint.

Despite being twins, they weren’t all that identical. Thank god for that. Mondo would never be able to tell them apart. Both were biologically Kiyotaka’s and possessed both his red eyes and black hair, however the twins had their own features that made it easier to tell them apart. Akio, the eldest by mere minutes, had freckled cheeks. Where Ren, the youngest, had a slight gap between his front teeth and needed glasses.

With his three kids distracted, he seized that opportunity to get into that stash of sugary cereal he and Kiyotaka kept hidden from them. Figuring if he sliced up a couple bananas to add to the cereal it would keep his husband off his back and avoid another lecture about too much sugar in their children’s diet. 

“Breakfast!” he called, setting out the bowls on the kitchen table just as the three made their way to the table and immediately wolfed down their breakfast. They definitely somehow all inherited his appetite, biological or not.

“Ah, did they wake you up?” Kiyotaka asked, his wet hair, towel around his neck and robe indicating he just got out of the shower. “I figured cartoons would keep them busy while I showered then prepared breakfast. Sorry about that, I intended to let you sleep in.”

“Nah, Don’t sweat it.” Mondo reassured. “I needed to get up at some point. Remember? I’m dropping off Midori at Yasuhiro’s place.”

“Yasuhiro.... you’re leaving our daughter in the hands of Yasuhiro.” Kiyotaka said, at him as if he were a madman. 

“Yeah, me and Hiro figured her and Hana could have a sleepover.” Mondo explained. 

“Yasuhiro, with two children.” Kiyotaka repeated. 

“His mother will also be there.” Mondo finally reassured.

“Oh thank god.” Kiyotaka sighed in relief. “You really had me scared there for a second.”

“Have some faith in Hiro, he somehow managed to keep Hana alive for this long.” Mondo chuckled before lazily stretching and getting a pot of coffee going. “Emphasis on somehow, of course.”

“And Daiya is still babysitting Akio and Ren tonight?” Kiyotaka asked.

“Yup, also remind me to video chat with my mom. I gotta get around to thanking her for those pyjamas she mailed over for the kids.” he said, popping two slices of bread into the toaster for himself. Before glancing over at Midori. “Midori, once you’re done go pick out some toys to pack.” 

Midori nodded, mouth too full with cereal to give a proper response other than a muffled and barely understandable ‘yes dad’. 

“That’s my girl.” Mondo smiled, before pouring himself a mug of coffee and of course added a hefty amount of his favourite coffee creamer flavour to it. “By the way, I gotta make a trip to the hardware store. I figured maybe we could just meet at the restaurant?” he suggested and took a sip. “I gotta pick up some stuff for work.”

“Not a problem at all!” Kiyotaka reassured. “I have errands I need to tend to as well before we go out.” he replied as he used the towel on his neck to soak up a few water droplets that were trailing down his forehead.

“Go get yourself ready, I’ll get the kids dressed and shi-“ he once again just narrowly missed another lecture about swearing in front of the kids. Sheesh, you would think after three kids he would finally learn. But old habits die hard he supposed. “You know...” he finished, leaning over to kiss his husband behind the ear, only to have him pull away.

“Please brush your teeth first, you have the worst case of morning breath today.” Kiyotaka stated.

Mondo frowned and rolled his eyes before chuckling. “Whatever man, just go get ready.” Typical Taka... 

The next few hours was spent getting three kids dressed, making sure they all brushed their teeth properly, painfully waiting for Midori to finish forcing as many stuffed animals as she could into her overnight bag and finally saying she couldn’t bring that damn unicorn Daiya got her. What was his brother thinking when he got her that of all things? Whatever it was, his daughter loved that thing. And it was the first present Daiya had ever gotten for her, so he kind of had to keep it for some kind of sentimental shit.

After a quick drive in that damn minivan Kiyotaka insisted on getting once the ultrasound revealed baby number two came with a friend, a couple flights of stairs where Mondo had to lug Midori’s overnight bag up, but sure enough they finally reached Hiro’s apartment. Soon as he knocked the door opened and there was Yasuhiro with Hana by his side.

“Wow, up before noon.” Mondo mused. “Incredible.”

“Hey, kids are more or less personal alarm clocks.” Hiro defended. “With no snooze button.”

“Yeah, I feel you on that one.” Mondo agreed as he ruffled Midori’s hair. “Be a good girl for Hiro and Hiroko.” he instructed. “Don’t cause too much trouble and Hiro has me and your dad’s number if you need anything.” 

“I know dad.” Midori replied.

Mondo grinned and handed off her overnight bag to Hiro. He kneeled down and gave her a hug and kissed her temple. “Have fun.”

“I will! Bye dad!” Midori said.

“Come on!” Hana urged as she grabbed ahold of Midori’s hand. “Dad rented a bunch of video games!”

And sure enough the two girls eagerly raced into the apartment.

“They really should find a way to bottle up all that energy kids have.” Hiro joked. “Whoever does that would be a millionaire.”

“Damn straight.” he agreed. “I would invest in something like that.”

“Wanna go into business together? If we figure out how we could make a fortune.” the sad thing was Mondo couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

“Considering you once tried to talk Makoto into letting you harvest his organs to pay off your debt from another one of your schemes, I think I’ll decline.” he replied.

“Aw come on! That was one time...” he huffed. “And just so you know fresh organs go for a lot of cash!” Hiro defended. 

“I prefer my organs inside my body.” Mondo stated.

“Right, though if you ever change your mind about your organs-“

“No.”

“Just saying, you can live with only one kidney-“

“Yasuhiro, unless you want me to rip off your dreadlocks and shove them up your ass-“

“Alright, alright! Point taken.” Hiro huffed. “Worth a shot...”

“I’ll pick Midori up tomorrow after lunch.” Mondo said just as their was a small little ‘crash’ from the inside of Yasuhiro’s apartment.

“Please say that wasn’t my new crystal ball!” Hiro groaned as Mondo grinned.

“Good luck!” he mused before leaving. 

....

“I don’t know... I don’t really wear dresses a lot.” Aoi sighed tiredly, sprawl on top of the bed. “Maybe I should opt for a tuxedo instead.” she muttered as she flipped through the pages. “Oh, but the mermaid cut dresses are so pretty!” she gushed.

“You look stunning in anything.” Sakura replied, also lazily sprawled out on the bed with Aoi and every single bridal and wedding magazine known to man. 

“Thanks, but that doesn’t help me make up my mind.” Aoi groaned and rolled onto her back, holding the magazine in the air as she skimmed through some more pages. “Awww, the lace on that one is cute. But I never worn that much white in my life.”

“Does it come in ivory?” Sakura asked.

“Ivory?” she echoed back. “Isn’t that the same as white?”

“Apparently not.” Sakura shrugged. “At least according to Celeste.”

“Ugh, I can’t decide!” Aoi groans and threw the magazine across the bed. “Tuxedos are so sleek and cheaper. But wedding dresses are so pretty, but so expensive...” she frowned. “Don’t suppose you could ask Taka and Mondo to help pitch in, they rented your womb twice after all.” she joked, picking up another magazine to look through. 

“I don’t think so.” Sakura chuckled. “We can only play that card so many times.” she got up briefly and opened the blinds, the sunlight reflecting on the diamond on her engagement ring. “We also have that cake tasting today.”

“Oh yeah, that will be fun!” Aoi mused excitedly, now seemingly out of her wedding dress or tux slump. “Going to some place and sampling cake, now that’s something I can look forward too!” 

Sakura returned to the bed, grabbing another magazine to flip through. “I never quite understood how weddings could be so hard to plan.” she said aloud. “Now I do.”

“True, I used to think it was just a free meal for everyone.” Aoi agreed. “Least until you actually have to plan one yourself. Then you got worry to about invites, venue, the cake, cocktail hour, seating, favours, guest list, dresses.” she listed off and groaned. “Now I understand why those brides on those wedding shows always seemed stressed.”

“But in the end it’s always a wonderful event.” Sakura reassured. 

“Yeah, that’s right! The wedding always turns out great, planning any event is stressful. Guess it’s just natural to be a little stressed.” she said. “What time is it?” Aoi didn’t even give Sakura time to respond as she checked the time on her phone herself. “It’s already passed lunch, let’s go grab a bite to eat!” she announced as she sprang out of the bed with a sudden burst of energy. “That stand with the kebabs should be opened by now!”

“Alright, just try not to fill up on them. Remember we still have that cake tasting today.” she reminded with a smile.

“I always have room for dessert.” Aoi grinned, going over to give her a quick peck. “Now hurry up, those kebabs go fast!”

....

“Uncle Daiya!” Akio and Ren cried as they raced up and hugged Daiya’s legs tightly.

“How many times do I have to tell you two? No running in the house!” Kiyotaka lectured. But to no avail, his sons were too wrapped up in their uncle finally arriving. 

“Hey! Great to see you two buggers again!” Daiya mused with a big smile on his face. “I missed you two!”

No matter how many times Daiya visited or babysat his and Mondo’s children, Kiyotaka always felt this wave of joy whenever Daiya came over. After all these years of believing any children between him and his husband wouldn’t have any family outside of their fathers, seeing Daiya always reminded him that they weren’t alone, and exactly the tiring but rewarding journey it was to meet him.

“You were just here two days ago.” Kiyotaka pointed out.

“And? I still miss my nephews.” Daiya chuckled and pulled them in for a tight hug. “Man, the three of us are going to have fun!” announced loudly.

“Emergency numbers are on the fridge, I left money for pizza on the counter-“

“Taka, this isn’t my first time looking after yours and my bro’s children.” Daiya pointed out. “Relax, I got this.” he paused briefly before looking around. “Speaking of which, is Mondo even here?”

“No, he said he had to pick up something from the hardware store.” Kiyotaka replied. “We just decided to meet at the restaurant for date night.”

“And he took his bike?” 

“Why yes.”

Daiya shook his head. “What was so important he needed? A box of screws?”

Kiyotaka blinked in the realization, Mondo took his bike so he couldn’t carry much. “I swear, I’ll never understand his distaste for our mini van.” 

“Heh, he’s probably worried that riding around in one makes him look uncool or something.” Daiya grinned. “He’s still as stubborn as a mule.”

“Regardless, it rather works in my favour.” Kiyotaka replied. “I have a little surprise for him, originally I was planning to give it to him in the car. But in the restaurant sounds much more romantic.” he concluded. 

“What exactly are you planning?”Daiya inquired. 

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose about that until me and Mondo return. But I do believe you, your brother, will be pleasantly surprised.” he said and took a moment to look at his watch. “Speaking of which I must be going. I would certainly hate to arrive after Mondo and be late.” Kiyotaka kneeled down and his sons raced up and hugged him. “Both of you be good for your uncle.” he said before standing up. “And Daiya, please limit their consumption of sugar, I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“I’m an uncle, it’s my job to get them hyped on sugar.” Daiya grinned. “I make no promises.” 

Great, now he and Mondo were going to have to wrangle two kids on a sugar rush into bed. But it was too late to talk Daiya out of it, he had to get going.

“Come on!” Ren tugged at Daiya’s leg. “Dad got a bunch of movies for us!”

Daiya grinned. “Really? Let’s go watch them! I’ll make some popcorn.”

And with that being said Daiya let Akio and Ren drag him off, Kiyotaka took that as his cue to leave. 

It was a short ride,even with having to make a quick stop but he arrived first before Mondo. Both of them decided on a much more simple restaurant, getting dressed up was a hassle, and with three kids to tend to it was best to save their energy. Plus neither him and Mondo liked getting dressed up. With a large box wrapped in green wrapping paper and topped with a pale yellow bow resting on the table, he waited. 

Not even five minutes later the roar of motorcycle could be heard from outside the restaurant. And sure enough Mondo entered, carrying a box of chocolates with a logo Kiyotaka recognized from one of those fancy chocolate places.

“I thought we agreed on no gifts.” Kiyotaka spoke as Mondo plopped himself down.

“Says the guy who brought that!” Mondo countered, pointing to the gift wrapped box on the table. “If I had known you were gonna get me something that big I would had gotten you something else!”

“Nonsense, first off I love the chocolates from this place.” Kiyotaka said and accepted the box, even more delighted to see Mondo had gotten him his favourites, sea salt caramel. He guessed the hardware store trip was a lie Mondo said in order to get him these. “And secondly... this really isn’t a gift just for you.” he defended. “I just thought I needed your approval before I take it home for the kids.” he explained. “Why don’t you take a look? Just open it from the top.”

Mondo appeared confused, but his husband didn’t dare question it. As soon as he lifted the lid off the box any confusion on his face was replaced with a wide smile.

“No fucking way...”

“I know he’s not a purebred maltese, I’m sorry I couldn’t find one. But I heard good things about the toy poodle breed and figured you wouldn’t mind a mix between the two.” Kiyotaka informed a smile touching his lips as he watched the light cream coloured puppy be scooped up in Mondo’s arms. 

“Dude, he’s perfect!” Mondo gushed, laughing as he let the puppy lick his face. “Does he have a name?”

“Well no, but I was thinking we pick one out rather then the kids.” Kiyotaka suggested. “Less chance of them bickering about what to name him.”

“Good point.” Mondo agreed. “Cooper is pretty cute. I remember when me And Daiya were naming Chuck that Cooper was a runner up name.” 

“Cooper sounds nice, I like Cooper.” Kiyotaka agreed, watching Mondo smother Cooper in affection. 

“Goddamn, you’re the best fucking husband ever.” Mondo mused, having to turn his head to avoid Copper licking near his mouth. “Do I ever tell you how much I love you?”

“Everyday.” Kiyotaka grinned, taking a sip of water from his glass. 

“Kids are going to lose their fucking minds.” Mondo said, giving the puppy an affectionate rub behind his ears. “You ever seen kids with a dog? It’s fucking fantastic.” 

“Judging from all the stories you shared about growing up with Chuck, I can conclude it was a happy experience.” Kiyotaka replied.

“Damn straight, all kids need a dog growing up!” Mondo stated, getting Cooper settled on his lap. He finally looked away from the puppy to look at Kiyotaka. “You’re too fucking good to me. I really don’t fucking deserve you.”

“You really need to stop saying that.” Kiyotaka replied, reaching across the table to gently grab ahold of Mondo’s hand. “I for one am honoured to be married to man with a heart of gold like you.”

“You’re such a fucking sap.” Mondo shook his head. “But... I would be lying if I said I didn’t think the same of you.” he admitted. 

Kiyotaka grinned, leaning in close to kiss his husband, although he had to let go of Mondo’s hand to try to block Cooper from attempting to get in on the kiss too. 

“I love you, Taka...” Mondo quietly mused afterwards with a smile on his face. 

“I love you to...” Kiyotaka smiled.

Mondo was about to go in for a second kiss, but Cooper decided he wasn’t going to be left out this time and immediately leapt at Mondo’s face.

“Gah! For fuck’s sake!” Mondo cried out in surprise as he held the puppy back.

“Gross, you got dog slobber in your mouth. I’m definitely not kissing you now. And I believe we reached the appropriate amount of pda for dining in a public restaurant.” he reasoned. 

“Try telling that to Cooper.” Mondo chuckled, patting said dog’s head. “Speaking of which... I never been a stickler for the rules but I gotta ask, thought most places had a no pet policy?”

“I used to tutor the owner back at Hope’s Peak for a little extra money. They insisted it was fine for me to bring the dog, said it was their way of saying thanks for helping them pass math.” Kiyotaka explained. 

“You’re the best.” Mondo grinned. “I’m lucky as hell to have you.” 

“As am I.” Kiyotaka smiled back.


	25. Chapter 25

“But dad-“

“Absolutely not!” 

“You said if I got full marks on that test I could get a reward!”

“Like a new cellphone, a gift card, art supplies, some new clothes!” Kiyotaka lectured. “I would even settle for another piercing!”

“So let me get this straight.” Midori frowned and crossed her arms. “Piercings are okay, but tattoos aren’t?”

“You can take piercings out, tattoos are permanent!” he pointed out.

Kiyotaka has heard the saying ‘they grow up so fast’ many times when it came to raising children. He used to never believe it, after all you had children around for years until they were ready to leave the nest and start out on their own life as independent adults. But now that he and Mondo had children of their own, he finally understood it. It seemed just yesterday Midori, Akio and Ren were all small and begging him and Mondo for piggy back rides, sleeping in their bed if they had a nightmare, and for their dads to play with them, now they were far from the babies him and Mondo brought home from the hospital, but that need to nurture and protect all three of three of them was still there. Now here they were, all teenagers who were seeking independence and trying to figure out who they were. 

Especially Midori, with her undercut and pierced navel, nose, and ear which had three. Those were things Kiyotaka could somewhat settle on, piercings could be taken out and hair grew back.

“Come on, I can pay for it!” Midori pleaded. 

“No, I’m not letting you deface your body.” Kiyotaka said yet again. “You only have one body, you need to treat it like a temple.”

“People decorate temples.” she huffed.

“If Midori’s body is a temple, then it must be open to anyone.” Akio piped in. “Day or night.” he snickered alongside Ren.

“Oh shut up!” Midori snapped.

“Both of you, stop it!” Kiyotaka ordered, hoping to put a stop to the usual sibling bickering. “I’m not going to tolerate comments like that or tattoos. Now hurry up and get ready, otherwise your be late for school.” 

Midori begrudgingly dropped the topic of tattoos and threw on her jacket before leaving early to make the walk to school, not too long after the twins left as well. 

He let out a sigh and brewed himself a second cup of coffee.

“Morning.” Mondo greeted as he entered the kitchen, being as today was his day off he slept in. While Kiyotaka on the other hand was always an early bird, plus he preferred to be up with their children, even if they were more than capable of getting ready in the morning by themselves. “You alright?” he asked. “You look like shit.”

“I’m just regretting letting Leon babysit when Midori was younger.” he sighed. “Should had known her sudden fixation on his piercings would lead to this.” 

“Is that what you call her ripping out one of his piercings when she was a toddle?” Mondo chuckled. “Seriously, What’s this about?”

“She wants a tattoo.” Kiyotaka groaned. “I could just barely tolerate the piercings and that undercut YOU gave her.” he poured himself a cup of coffee and dropped two sugar cubes in it. “I constantly feel like I have to be the bad guy since you suddenly decided discipline is my job.” 

“Uhh... well I mean... disciplining ain’t really my forte. But I get where your coming from.” Mondo replied. “I’ll try stepping up.”

“I’m sorry, I almost sound like I’m blaming you when they misbehave...” he rested his cheek on his fist. 

“No, don’t apologize. It ain’t fair to you.” Mondo reassured, kissing his forehead. “Next time something comes up I’ll handle it.” he promised. 

“Thank you.” Kiyotaka smiled softly. “You mind picking up Ren from cheerleading? I need to go grocery shopping.”

“Course.” Mondo smiled and gave him a quick peck.

....

“I just can’t believe Hope’s Peak considers waitressing a talent.” Hana muttered, flipping through the pamphlets of said academy. “I hardy imagine going from table to table and taking orders is considered a talent.”

“Didn’t they also refer to you as not only the ultimate waitress, but ultimate ballerina as well?” Akira inquired. “I can imagine a student that has two talents would be very sought after.”

“Oh please, I haven’t danced in years.” Hana pointed out, “I can’t perform and make sure my dad is okay at the same time.”

“But would you go back and stick with it if you could?” Midori asked, picking at her lunch.

“What do you think?” she sighed, annoyed as she kept skimming through the pamphlet. “I keep expecting it to be a mistake though.”

“So what, you’re not gonna transfer there now?” Midori questioned.

“Of course not! The things I heard about Hope’s Peak sound really promising.” Hana replied.

“Like how if you graduate from there your set for life?” she asked, recalling how often she heard that whenever the school came up in a topic.

“I was referring to the education there.” she huffed. “The graduates I talked to including my father, says they have the latest and most high quality equipment. Plus Hope’s Peak has a fantastic reputation, graduating from there would boost my chances of getting into nursing.”

“Nursing?” Akira echoed back. “So ballet is out of the picture entirely?”

“Waitressing alone isn’t enough to get by. And besides, trying to achieve stardom is pointless.” she took a sip from her water bottle. “Everyone wants to be famous. But how many people actually achieve it? It’s too risky, it’s best to be realistic.”

“Your an ultimate for a reason.” he reminded. 

“Becoming dependent on talent alone doesn’t guarantee a stable life, neither does graduating from some school and expecting everything to work out.” 

Deciding to change the topic, she leaned back into her seat. “I’m going to miss you two when you transfer, it’s going to be so boring with you guys.” she complained. 

“Why? Because you won’t be able to copy my homework.” Hana scoffed.

“That was ONE time.” Midori huffed. “It’s gonna be so damn lonely without you two. Which is why I was wondering if you were busy after school?”

“My shift at the restaurant got changed, so yeah.” Hana answered.

“I have nothing that I can’t rearrange for a later date.” Akira replied.

“Good, meet me at Hana’s place.”

“Why my place?!”

“Because we sure as hell can’t do it at my place, and I’m pretty sure Akira’s family hates us.” Midori pointed out.

“That’s not true, my father is mildly tolerant of Hana.” Akira spoke. 

“And besides, your dad either won’t be home or he’ll want in on it.” Midori said.

“Excuse me, but what exactly are we doing at my own home?” Hana demanded. “You can’t just make these plans and keep me in the dark about it!”

“Just trust me on this.” Midori reassured with a wave of her hand. 

“Fine...” Hana let out a sigh and shook her head. “I’m already regretting this...”

....

“Midori, what the fuck is that?!” 

“Like it?” Midori grinned, leaning on a hand. 

“Where the hell did you even get that thing?!” Hana asked.

“You’re be surprise what people are willing to part with.” she explained.

“Which brings me to my next question...” Hana took a deep breath and pressed her hands together before pointing them towards Midori. “Why did you get a tattoo machine?”

“My dad said I couldn’t get a tattoo, he didn’t say I couldn’t give myself one.” she rationalize.

“You got to be kidding me...” she groaned. “That’s why you dragged us over here? To make sure you don’t kill yourself while you give yourself a tattoo?”

“No, I already gave myself one while my parents and brothers were out.” Midori grinned and rolled up her skirt, revealing a small black and white pirate ship tattooed on her thigh. “So, What Do you think? Pretty damn hot, right?”

“Oh my god.... you were actually dumb enough to go through with it!” Hana groaned. “You know you’re NEVER be allowed to go to a hot springs again, right?”

“No biggie. You know how easily I pass out in the heat.” Midori mused. She always found it so ironic since her dads loved hot baths and saunas, unlike her. “Now check this out.” she turned around and brought her hair up and away from her neck. Revealing a second tattoo, this time a queen’s crown. 

“How did you even manage to tattoo the back of your neck?!” 

“A lot of fucking mirrors.” she responded, recalling all the complicated angles she had to position in order to properly see the back of her neck. 

Hana shook her head and sighed. “And you brought us all here because...?” 

“You wanted to give us all some ink, correct?” Akira finally spoke after watching the two go back and fourth.

“Course, What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t offer my two closest friends some free tattoos.” Midori grinned.

“Free illegal tattoos!” Hana hissed. “I’m pretty damn sure you need a medical license to do them!”

“Meh, details.” Midori shrugged. “So, any takers?” she offered.

“You have got to be kidding-“

“Very Well then.” Akira spoke, getting up from the couch. 

“Wait... are you serious?” Hana blinked, mouth agape. 

“I fail to see why I wouldn’t. Tattoos have such a fantastic and varied history surrounding them.” Akira stated. “I don’t even attend public pools or hot springs, even if I did they wouldn’t dare turn down me.”

“Alrighty, what did you have in mind?” Midori grinned, shoving a sketchbook packed with doodles at him. “Some agender pride stuff? Chess pieces?”

“Hmmm....” he idly hummed as he flipped through page after page of scribbles. “Something along these lines would be sufficient.” Akira decided, pointing to one of the many little drawings. “On my back and bigger.”

“I like the way you think.” Midori mused. “Now just strip and get comfortable!”

Akira obliged, unbutton his brown vest, undoing his tie, and removing the white button up underneath it all. He then rested laid on his stomach, leaving Midori to prep everything. Hana could only groan as she watched the two.

“You two really put my friendship to the test...” Hana sighed, plopping herself in the arm chair. 

Midori rolled her eyes and slowly began to start. 

It took a few hours, it was tempting to cut the session (if that’s what you could call this) into parts and finish this another day. But she trudged through, wiping a droplet of sweat off her forehead as she looked at her handiwork. 

“And we’re done.” she announced, stepping back from Akira. On his back was a pair of angel wings. As Akira got up and she fetched a mirror for him. “Well, what do you think?” she asked. 

“Very impressive.” he praised. “Quite detailed...” 

Midori looked at Hana with a shit eating grin on her face. “Well? What do you think?”

“I’ll admit... it’s not the worst job someone with little to no experience with tattoos could do.” Hana huffed and crossed her arms. “Akira, you do know your parents are going to murder you for this, right?”

“Nonsense, I’m the only heir to the Togami name my father has.” he responded. “He wouldn’t dare throw me out. 

“Thanks to your dad shooting blanks!” Midori dug out her phone. “Hold still, I want a photo of my latest creation.” and with that she took a picture. “I’m pretty damn good at this. Think I just found my future career.” she beamed. “Sure beats my original idea.”

“Which was?” Hana asked.

“Marry an old rich guy.”

“Of course it was.” she shook her head.

“So, you want one?” Midori offered.

“No fucking way, I actually enjoy going to hot springs.” she declined. 

“Come on, I could do some flowers, butterflies, even some ballet slippers?” she offered. 

“Not in a million years.” Hana stated, checking the time on her phone. “It’s that late already? I should had started dinner ages ago!” she groaned.

“I can make arrangements to have some food delivered to your house if you please?” Akira offered, already fetching his phone out of his pocket. 

But before Hana could respond the door flung open.

“Sorry I’m back so late!” Hiro apologized, making his way back inside trying to balance a medium sized cardboard box and a few plastic bags bags. “My cellphone was dead-“

“I told you to charge it.” Hana reminded and helped her dad carry in the bags.

“And I kind of lost it...” he said sheepishly, earning a sigh from Hana. “But I did pick up your favourite from that restaurant! And got you a cake... sort of sat on it at one point, but it’s still good!” he reassured, opening up the box to reveal a somewhat squash white cake with a pair of ballet slippers piped in the middle with pink frosting. “Ultimate waitress AND ballerina! I’m gonna have bragging rights for years!” 

Hana shook her head. “It’s been ages since I performed, someone is bound to take that title from me.” 

“Don’t be so modest, if there was someone to take the title from you it would had happened already.” Hiro stated. “In fact I totally predict it!” he announced. “You’re gonna remain the ultimate ballerina!”

“Dad, please...” Hana covered her face to hide how red she was.

Luckily Hana’s father soon stopped on the topic of ballet once he turned to his to Akira, who was still standing around without his shirt.

“Uhhh... I normally don’t like to judge by why are you shirtless?” he asked awkwardly before glancing at Hana and Midori. “Wait... shit! I didn’t my prediction would come true so soon!” he gasped.

“What prediction? That I gave Akira a tattoo?” Midori inquired. 

“A tattoo?” Hiro repeated. Akira turned around in order to show off the feathered wings she had tattooed on his back. “No way! That’s awesome!” he cried out in amazement. “And you built that with parts from a junkyard?”

“What? No, of course not.” Midori wrinkled her nose. “Why the fuck would I go there when I can just buy one from some stranger online. And before you get all over my ass about it.” she glanced in Hana’s direction “I never leave home without pepper spray or a pocket knife. Plus I had Akira with me.”

“For protection?” Hiro asked.

“No, meat shield.” Midori joked. “Nah, I just needed help transporting it.”

“Akira, you knew about this?” Hana inquired.

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” 

“You never asked.”

“Who cares, I want one!” Hiro cried out and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. 

“Dad, no... please no.” Hana groaned.

“You can even pick out what I get!” Hiro offered. 

“No way in hell.” she frowned. 

“Come on, pick something for your dad!” he urged. “It’s family bonding!”

“I would advise you do so.” Akira suggested. “Otherwise he might get something foolish.”

“Fine...” Hana let out a sigh. “I don’t know... an infinity symbol or something?”

“Gotcha!” Midori grinned, slipping on a new pair of latex gloves. 

 

....

“Here’s the mail.” Ren said, setting down the stack of envelops in front of Mondo before plopping himself at his usual spot at the table to eat breakfast.

“Thanks.” Mondo said and began flipping through them. Junk, junk, bills, junk, more bills, all the same- Wait... 

He stared at one of the envelopes, it definitely wasn’t some cheap advertisement or another bill that needed to be paid. First off it wasn’t even addressed to him or Kiyotaka, it was for Midori. Huh... odd, typically she didn’t get mail. He glance at Midori who was currently sipping her tea and browsing her phone. 

“Hey, you got something in the mail.” Mondo informed and slid the envelope across the table in Midori’s direction. 

“Huh? Odd, I wasn’t expecting anything.” she scanned the letter before opening it with Akio looming over her.

“Hey dad, didn’t you go to Hope’s Peak?” Akio asked.

“Yeah, that’s how I met your other father.” Mondo answered. “Why? What does it say?”

Midori cleared her throat. “You, Midori Ishimaru, had been scouted to attend Hope’s-“

Mondo didn’t even give his daughter a chance to finish, that’s was more than enough to get him to leap out of his seat (spilling his coffee in the process) with a big fat smile on his face. “No fucking way!”

“Language!” Kiyotaka called from the other room. 

“Taka, you gotta come see this!” and sure enough his husband rushed into the room, carrying a damp Cooper in a towel. 

“What is it? I was in the middle of giving Cooper his bath.” he pointed out, as the dog wiggled in an attempt to get down.

“Midori, go on.” Mondo urged excitedly. “Read What it says.”

“Uhh...” Midori tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before she read aloud. You, Midori Ishimaru, have been scouted to attend Hope’s Peak Academy-“

Kiyotaka let out a loud gasp as Cooper wiggled freed and raced off to avoid bath time. “You got accepted into Hope’s Peak?!” 

“Yeah, it would seem so...” Midori chuckled and scanned the letter. “Wow... I can’t believe it...”

“It will sink in eventually, me and your dad we’re the same way.” Mondo grinned. His and Kiyotaka’s little girl was going to the very same school where he and Kiyotaka first met. It was like something out of a movie.

“I’m so proud of you!” his husband cried out, throwing himself at Midori for a hug, eyes watering.

“What did you even get in for?” Ren asked. “Don’t you have to have a talent?”

“Or did you win the lottery they have?” Akio questioned.

Midori returned her eyes to the letter and quickly scanned through it.

“Well, what did you get in for?” Kiyotaka asked, letting go of her.

“Uhh... nothing too fancy, just...” Midori trailed off.

“Let me see.” before Midori could react, Kiyotaka took the letter out of her hands and quickly read it. His face paled as he did so.

“Taka, What is it?” Mondo asked.

“You got accepted... as a tattoo artist?!” his husband cried out, gawking at Midori in horror.

“Uhh... maybe it’s a typo?” Midori chuckled awkwardly. Yeah, him and Kiyotaka weren’t falling for that, she caught on and let out a sigh. “In my defensive you said I couldn’t get a tattoo, not that I couldn’t give myself one.” 

“Show us.” this was definitely something Mondo had to see, hopefully she didn’t get anything she would regret later. Happened to a few members of his old gang once, like names of their girlfriends... well ex girlfriends

She rolled her eyes and took out her phone. “Here, I have some photos of them on my phone...” she said and went onto her photos, revealing a crown and pirate ship tattoo. “These are what I gave myself...” 

Okay, Mondo had to admit... it looked pretty damn awesome. Definitely well done and something he would get himself if Kiyotaka haven’t talked him out of getting inked. 

“Yourself?” he inquired. 

“And... I might had gave some to others.”

“Who?”

“Ah... Akira, some tourists, and Hana’s dad.”

“Of course Yasuhiro wouldn’t tell us...” Kiyotaka groaned and shook his head. “I should had known their was a reason he was bringing up his predictions so much.”

“And Akira too? Toko and Byakuya won’t let me hear the end of it.” Mondo huffed. Shit... how the hell were they going to discipline her?! “Okay... do we ground or her keep congratulating her?” Mondo asked.

“I... don’t know?!” Kiyotaka cried out. “The parenting books said nothing about what to do if your child gets accepted into a school for illegal activity!”

“Well I got for being a biker gang leader and didn’t we have some dude who was with the Yakuza?” he said. “So... I’m guessing tattoos would be the least worst thing to do out of those things?” Mondo shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

“Maybe we can do both? Praise her for getting into Hope’s Peak but also punish her for tattooing!”he suggested. “Sounds like a swell idea if I do say so myself!”

“Alright, so no phone for a week.” Mondo started, holding out his hand. 

“Fair enough.” Midori let out an annoyed sigh and handed over her phone.

“And we get... Whatever you used to give tattoos.” Kiyotaka added.

“I expected that.” Midori shook her head. “It’s way back in my closet.”

“We’re move it tonight.” Kiyotaka stated. “Now, back to the praising! You must be excited to be going to the same school with Akira and Hana now that you’re be transferring alongside them.”

“Yeah, what is Akira’s talent again?” Mondo asked. 

“Whatever an ultimate strategist is.” Ren shrugged. “Planning or organization? He doesn’t talk about it much.” 

“It will be pretty nice to stay with them, they would be bored to death without me.” Midori grinned. “And without me, Hana loses her mom friend status.” 

“Alright, let’s just go out for breakfast to celebrate.” Mondo said, already digging his car keys out of his pocket. “I’ll even try calling up Daiya to see if he’s available.”

“What if he wants me to tattoo him like Yasuhiro did?” Midori asked. “I mean he’s family so I should at least-“

“Nice try, kiddo.” Mondo chuckled and ruffled Midori’s hair. “Now go get ready, otherwise that place you three like won’t be serving breakfast anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it! I want to thank everyone who left such kind reviews and supported this fic. I never expected myself to ever actually be able to finish this, but I’m so proud of myself for actually doing it. This was my first Danganronpa fic and I’m beyond flattered so many of you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Thank you!


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